Detach
by LoadedEel
Summary: Everything was gone. His mind was empty and brain fuzzy. His memories were erased and his magic stolen. He woke up to a blonde woman calling him Natsu and a guild full of people expecting him to act a certain way. They want to get to the bottom of this, but you know what they say...curiosity killed the cat. (Cannon divergent) Rated M for adult situations.
1. One

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **This is a rewrite of my very first story called "Blank." I decided to rework it again and I must say...reading my first writing project was cringey to the extreme. But it is amazing the steps I've taken in a year.**

* * *

ONE

* * *

Everything was dark.

No, not just dark, everything had a quiet emptiness to it.

He felt…strange.

Wrong and strange, like his skin was too tight or his bones were too big. His brain was fuzzing out and he was more than sure there was something that he was meant to remember, to know.

But he doesn't. Or does he? He can't remember.

It's all just…blank.

It was as if his mind was wiped clean, like someone mercilessly dug up a tree trunk and extricated it with no care for the entangled roots, leaving a gaping hole behind that was supposed to be filled with _something_.

Too bad he just couldn't remember what.

Images flashed through his mind. A swirl of liquid gold, a massive beast with shining white fangs, sky blue and inky darkness flashing with sparkling lights. Stars…those were stars.

But that was it, and even as those things flew through his mind, they were gone again without a trace.

He took a mental check of his faculties. Everything _seemed_ to be in order, on the inside of his mind at least, more or less. Probably less if he was entirely honest. He could still feel his extremities, as he was lying on something rough and hard, the cold seeping into his back and legs. He could hear as well. Light scuffles and moans from all around him assaulted his eardrums. He cringed as a loud scrape and a muffled thump echoed from behind him.

So all in all, the situation wasn't all _too_ horrible, he wasn't in pain, nothing was broken and he was mostly warm. He was also sure he had been in many worse situations, but he couldn't remember when or how. It was just a lingering…feeling that he had in the back of his mind.

He cracked his left eye open a fraction and deemed it the worst idea he'd ever had.

"Shit!" His moan of pain burst out of him. The light was too damn bright. Quickly he shut his burning eye and the relief made him sigh happily.

It was blissfully black again, but it wasn't as empty as before.

Something was nagging at him though, like a small wiggle in this conscious that told him that the status quo wasn't quite right.

So he opened his eyes again – slowly – and the blurry grey shape came into focus as his gaze wavered momentarily then cleared.

He realized that he was lying on the ground staring up at an unremarkable ceiling, crisscrossed with wooden beams and iron supports. It gave no clue about his location or any helpful hints about why he was spread out haphazardly on what can only be described at the most uncomfortable floor known to man, one leg still hooked around something in the air and more than one object poking him in his lower back.

At this thought, he slowly sat up and watched as yet another unremarkable object, this time a wooden bench – which was what his leg was still hooked around – and just behind it, a gleaming bar top covered in shining glass came into focus. He grunted and rubbed his eyes suddenly extremely tired. He pulled the _things_ that were poking him in the ass out from underneath him, realizing that they were just…twigs. Lots of tiny blackened and burnt branches that smelled faintly of something delicious – that thought bewildered him – and lingering smoke.

Just as that mystifying thought rumbled through his mind, a slight shuffling noise startled him out of his twig inspection.

His head whipped around fast enough for his neck to give a painful crack, but his discomfort and annoyance and _everything else_ in his mind was forgotten in the wake of something far more important.

A pair of eyes, filled with exasperation and something much happier, a soft fondness that stirred up his insides and he didn't have a clue as to _why_. All I could see was deep, rich amber, warm and inviting. They seemed to suck him in and he damn well didn't want to fight it.

 _Absolutely gorgeous_.

"Damn it! I wish he would stop doing that to us every time he comes to talk to Master."

He jolted, belatedly realizing that the shimmering eyes he'd been staring into were in fact attached to a young woman. She was small in stature, golden blonde hair, cute nose, full lips. Overall her face was very beautiful. At the moment she was dusting off her tiny black skirt to rid it of the dust from the floor they had fallen on, but her voice was so full of familiarity, like a blanket that wrapped around him until he felt safe from the world.

"You okay, Natsu?" She glanced up at him, head tilted to the side in a gesture that could only be described as cute.

"Uhm?" Something about the situation seemed delicate, like one wrong step on a broken sheet of ice that would shatter it completely.

The woman's eyes darted around and she huffed lightly, stroking a small lump of bright blue curled on the floor beside her. As she took in the broken twigs on the ground around him, a smile bloomed on her face, a little crooked and mischievous, but no less blinding. "It looks like we wound up on the floor again. That guy has no goddamn manners when it comes to his sleep spells. He could at least write a 'sorry-for-putting-you-under-again-hope-you-all-come-out-of-your-magic-induced-traces-alright' note. Or pick up our bar tab or something. Sometimes I don't care that he's Erza's sort-of boyfriend. What if someone hit their head on the edge of the table and got hurt?"

He needed to say something; anything, but all the words that wanted to make the trek out of his mouth got stuck in his throat. Although, his heart was doing a wild jig in his chest.

At least it was still working.

None of the things she was saying made any sense to him, at all. The names and situations that she mentioned weren't ringing any bells in his empty head. Panic welled up in his chest and he tried valiantly to _not_ flip the fuck out, but he was losing that particular battle pretty quickly.

The woman was quietly cursing someone named 'Mystogan' under her breath while she slowly rose off the ground, stretched cramped limbs and rolled her left ankle and neck while her curved into a pleased grin. "You're really quiet Natsu; you hit something on the way down? Was it your head? I _fucking knew_ this would happen sooner or later, but will Master listen? No! Neither will Jel—uhh…Mystogan for that matter."

"I think—I don't really…I don't know? Maybe?"

His head didn't hurt like he hit it, it was just…a little fuzzy and throbbed with his heart slightly. Nothing too bad, but what did he know?

"Natsu, you look really pale. I don't think I've ever seen you this colour before, even when you're on the train curled up with motion sickness." She scrunched her nose up and squinted at him. "Hmmm…maybe you need a little something to eat, huh? _Mystogan_ wasted your last meal apparently." She reached over and pulled a burnt twig out of his hair, holding it up as if that was an answer or something.

Finally, the block in his lungs and the lump in his throat dissolved and a veritable flood of questions poured out of his mouth, he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to, and he didn't. He wanted answers and he needed them now, he was too confused and a little bit scared to stay quiet.

"Who are you? Where am I? What is this place? Why am I so damn warm?" It took him one breath and he heaved air into his lungs after his outpouring of words while the woman stared down at him, frozen in place with her arm outstretched and lips parted.

The twig had crumbled to dust and ash on the floor.

Her eyes glinted strangely and then she was in his face faster than what he thought was possible, an ugly frown pulling at her features. "Is this another one of your pranks? You won't get me again like last week, and just so Happy knows I found all those damn fish bones in my couch." She poked a thin finger into his ribs and he flinched back in discomfort.

He waved his hands in front of his face, slightly afraid she was going to deck him in the jaw. "I'm gonna stop you right there. I have no idea what you're talking about. And what the hell is a Happy?"

"What do you mean no idea? Did you somehow forget your partners? Or the shit you and your blue cat pull every other day?" She sniggered slightly and rolled her eyes playfully, obviously not believing a word he said. "Come on Natsu, cut it out. Let's get you some more fire from Mira; she says she has been switching up the wood she uses so that tastes different."

Panic started to set in. "No! Seriously, who are you? Who am I? Why do you keep calling me Natsu!?" He all but pleaded with her, his voice increasing in volume with all the stress he was feeling.

"Why the fuck would anyone eat fire?" That seemed like a pressing question as well, who in their right mind would willingly burn their mouths?

But that seemed like the wrong things to say.

The woman turned around and set those dazzling eyes on him again, confused and scared and a little bit angry, freezing him in place. "Natsu…stop toying with me. It isn't fucking funny this time." Her arms folded under her generous bust and she glared down at him where he was still kneeling on the cold stone floor.

The noise around them was starting to pick up as people he hadn't seen before groaned and lamented over their shared Mystogan stories. A man with deep inky hair rolled his eyes at a woman drinking deeply from a flask at the bar and beside them a hulking man with a lightning-shaped scar scowled down into his mug.

Who the hell were all these people? Where was he? Who was this woman?

A couple of seconds passed before she dropped her arms limply at her sides and he can start to see something that looked like real honest to the Gods fear start to bleed through.

She silently fell to her knees so that she's eye level with him, eyes wide and disbelieving. "You're not screwing around, are you? You seriously don't remember me?" Her voice is barely above a whisper and he strained his ears hard just to hear the words.

He shook his head and cursed quietly as she gaped. Her hands lifted to grip both of his shoulders before she looked him dead in the eyes trying – and failing – to find something of her partner in him. "Natsu, it's me, Lucy." She smiled then, a little strained and entirely fake, her eyes didn't shine like he instinctually knew they would. It still knocked the breath out of him, though.

It fell only a moment later when he answered with silence.

He was stunned for all of a few seconds before he looked down a traced a crack in the stone under his knees, unwilling to unable to look her in the eyes again. "I'm sorry." He whispered back. He felt strangely sad to let this beautiful woman down.

Her hands left his shoulders so fast; it was like she had been burned. "What _do_ you remember?"

People started to crowd around them, laughing and talking with each other until the noise pressed against them like a physical thing. It was uncomfortable and he wanted to run as fast as he could. But he couldn't even get his legs to move.

He wracked his brain, at least the part that has been left intact.

It hit him then, about how nothing felt right, nothing _looked_ right. Why he was feeling out of sorts and wanted to cringe and shrug his skin off. There was a massive hole left in his memories. The first thing he could actually, physically remember was that nondescript grey ceiling and the woman's – Lucy's – bright amber eyes.

His life and what he remembered started not ten minutes prior.

It wasn't that he had forgotten anything.

It was that I had forgotten _everything_.

* * *

- **ooo-**

* * *

"Wendy! We need a little help over here!" He could hear that her voice was strained and slightly panicked, cracking in disbelief and worry.

It also has the added effect of being louder than normal and started to gather the attention from the groups of decidedly…odd people all around them. Seriously...just who were these people?

Why are there so many cats everywhere wearing clothes?

"Lucy!" A tiny, brilliantly blue haired girl skidded on her knees beside him, her hands fluttering over his arms. He leant away from her, uncomfortable from all the scrutiny. "What's wrong? Is it Natsu? Is he hurt? I can't find any cuts or scrapes." Her small hands ghosted over the back of her head and he physically flinched away. "No contusions, but he does seem strange and quiet and pale."

"Wendy, oh thank Mavis," Lucy breathed. "Can you please check Natsu out? Something isn't right. He says that he doesn't remember my name or his for that matter."

The small girl nodded at the blonde and stretched out her hands over his chest. "Of course, hold on a minute Natsu, just sit still."

What could can he do but nod, even if he still was a little suspicious?

His eyes blew wide when her hands glowed a muted green-blue before he all but melted at the warmth of _whatever_ she was doing to him.

 _Magic_. A small prick of something pinged in his more-or-less empty brain. This…Wendy…was using magic.

The tiny girl cocked her head to the side. "Well…physically he's fine, a slight bruise on his shoulder from when he fell off the chair from Mystogan's spell…I healed that easily." She then looked at him in the eyes. "But his brain chemistry and magic is…off. I can't explain it any better than that."

She looked down at the stones in the floor, flushed from embarrassment, "I'm sorry you guys, I just don't know what's causing this. Brains are just so complex; I think we need to call Porlyusica."

Lucy grimaced slightly. "It's alright Wendy. We need to talk to Master anyways. He might know of something like this happening before. Or Levy even."

At her spoken words, yet another petite blue-haired girl sat crossed legged on the floor with them, bright red glasses keeping her wavy locks at bay. "Levy! Please tell me you have heard of something like this before, maybe in a book you've read? Or in your research?" Even he could tell that she trying to pull an explanation from thin air.

Short blue hair swished around her face as she shook her head. "Sorry Lu, not that I've read before, but it isn't something that I'm an expert in. I've usually left the medical side of things to Wendy or Porly. I'll head to the guild's library to pick up some books and start some preliminary research." As quick as she came, she was gone, scampering away with another man that peeled off of a group of four, his acid green hair covering most of his face.

The double doors boomed quietly in the silent room.

Nothing moved.

"What in Earthland are you brats all starring at?" A male voice spoke up from beside them.

A very short, grey-haired, balding old man stepped into view from around the multiple pairs of legs. "Natsu? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

He spoke up again, annoyed that everyone was asking him questions that he had no answers for. "Okay, why do you people keep calling me Natsu? Better yet, who are you people?" The older man looked at him with a slightly stunned expression, then looked at the blonde woman next to him. "Lucy, what's going on?"

He huffed at being ignored and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Master, I don't know! We all woke up from the sleep spell just fine like all the other times, but…Natsu says he doesn't remember anything. Wendy says his brain chemistry and magic energy is off, and we need to call Porlyusica please!"

Everyone stared at Lucy like she was crazy, but he could hear the quiet desperation in her voice.

She was scared. Because of him, or for him, or for some other reason. It didn't matter to him. The fact that she was unsettled in any way made a part of him bristle with annoyance.

The woman with the bright amber eyes shouldn't be sad. He didn't know why he knew, he just did. Just like he knew that he was supposed to know her, but he didn't. She seemed…familiar. Like an after-image from a dream that faded away when woken.

The small man watched the kneeling woman for a moment longer. "Lucy… how can you be sure that this isn't just something that's temporary? He might remember something soon."

She shook her head vehemently. "No Master, this is something serious. Look at his eyes."

The small man didn't even need to bend down to look at his face, his eyes gaze searching for what Lucy was talking about. He seemed wise beyond his considerable years. "What do you mean? They're the same colour as before, right?"

She huffed in exasperation. "Doesn't anyone see it? His eyes, look, there's no fire in them. Master, please call Porlyusica!" She was almost yelling at the end of her speech.

He blinked languidly as the blonde huffed up at the short man. Damn. She was certainly feisty. It seemed that someone wanted answers almost as much as he did.

The old man raked a hand through what is left of his hair, mumbled a bit about 'old pink-haired witches' and 'damn brats making my life short,' closed his eyes and sighed lightly. "Alright you two, into my office and I want to hear the whole story. Wendy, please call Porlyusica and ask her to come to the infirmary. We will meet her there when we're finished."

Twin blue pigtails bounce as the girl jumped up off the floor. "Of course Master." She bowed slightly and disappeared behind the legs of the gawkers standing in a semi-circle around them; the small white cat sprouted wings and flew behind her.

He gawked as the cat vanished from sight, not really surprised, more…mystified that all of this was happening. It really did seem like everything was one long, overly complicated dream.

His head gave another dull throb as if to remind him of what he was missing.

"Alright, you brats! Back to work causing havoc or whatever you were doing before all this." The Master disappeared from his sight, the legs around them finally breaking up and everyone shuffling off after giving his furtive looks.

A pale hand was thrust into his sight. "Come on Natsu, let's go talk to Master and get this over with." He hesitated for a second then grasped the hand before it hauled him off the floor and to his feet.

"Thank you..." He trailed off at the end of the sentence, unsure of how to continue.

"Lucy. My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and don't thank me yet. I don't have any idea how long this will go on for, or if it's reversible." She tilted her head to the side and caught his gaze from the corner of her eyes.

"Still, thank you…Lucy. For trying, I mean."

Lucy's hand loosened its grasp, but he held on tighter. Her hand in his grounded him kept him from diving off the deep end of anxiety he could feel welling up behind his carefully calm façade.

"Thank you for believing me right away. I don't know what's happening. Or where I am or who you are, or even who I am. But I think…that I can trust you? Maybe? Gods this is so strange." He tried to convey his point, and Lucy seemed to understand him well enough.

They stop outside a large wooden door. "What are partners for? Natsu, I can see something's wrong. Believe me, I want to figure this out…probably just as much as you do." She smiled a little brighter at that. "We'll figure this crap out, we always do."

All he could think was that he had amazing taste in partners.

Unbidden, he smiled back at her. Something about Lucy made him…content? Warm? Happy?

All of those.

Probably.

However, the blonde gasped slightly in surprise and grabbed both sides of his face in her palms, forcing him to grimace while both her thumbs hooked into his upper lip and _pulled_. "Natsu! Your teeth…"

His tongue ran over them and took stock. Nothing damaged, nothing hurt. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes snapped up to his, her gaze burned him a little, in a good way. "Your fangs are gone. What in Earthland is going on? We really need to talk to Master and Porlyusica about all this!"

He poked a flat tooth with one finger after she had pulled hers from his mouth. "I had fangs? Really?"

She chuckled slightly and shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, no, not really. They were more like really sharp canines. All dragon slayers have them. Gajeel and Wendy both do at least. Sting and Rogue too. I think Cobra does as well."

This tidbit of information floored him. "Dragon slayers?" Did he slay Dragons?

Lucy waved her hand, batting away the question for the moment at least. "Don't worry about it for now. Let's just talk to Master, alright?"

She turned around and knocked on the large wooden door in front of them. His hand tightened on hers in apprehension.

Lucy squeezed back. "I'll be right here the whole way through this."

She pushed open the door and turned to look at me. "This is going to be a shock to your system. All this information is going to seem really strange to you. But I promise. We'll figure it all out."

He nodded as something new peaked in his subconscious. "And you never break your promises."

Lucy turned sharply towards him again, searching his gaze. Those deep amber eyes kept him rooted to the ground. "How did you know that?" She whispered, her voice tinged with the first threads of hope.

He shrugged and replied. "I don't know… I just do. Intuition, maybe? Sort of a gut feeling more than anything." Gesturing to his stomach in a roundabout fashion to convey his point. He grabbed her hand again before she could turn away.

She looked absolutely confused. "Yeah...let's just go with that, I guess." She turned towards the open door and walked through, her hand pulling him behind her.

The door thumped behind them with a quiet sound.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Alright, Lucy, let's just start from the beginning shall we?" The Master's voice was strained.

Lucy watched Natsu as he sat down in the chair next to her, crossing his arms over his chest and eyes dancing around the room without a hint of recognition. He was very different, calmer, and less…enthusiastic. There was no fire behind those bright eyes, his drive and conviction seemingly just… cut-off? Removed? Suppressed? Lucy had so many questions floating through her head, but this wasn't the time for them.

She sighed and leant forward slightly, wanting to drag a hand down her face but she resisted.

But only barely.

"I'll start from this morning then, right before Mystogan came and knocked us out...again"

"I was standing at the request board, looking for a job to go on, you know…lots of fighting, the promise of lots of jewels, somewhere far enough from civilization so that Natsu wouldn't burn down half a city block again like last week." Master nodded, a grimace on his face, his eyes shifted slightly to the stack of forms on his desk.

She peeked at Natsu from the corner of her eye again. Usually, he seemed somewhat bashful when anyone accused him of going overboard with such things. He would scratch the back of his head and grin sheepishly at everyone while he stammered out excuses, then he would either pick a fight with Gray over something stupid and destroy a part of the guild or insist on a fishing trip with Happy to get out of there.

But nothing of the sort happened this time. He just stared straight ahead at the Master's desk and…waited for Lucy to continue with the story. She had never seen Natsu not yelling and throwing fire around because he was "bored as the day is long." It just wasn't right.

It made her feel so uncomfortable like someone had shifted everything in her life a little to the left and she was only _just noticing_.

She looked back at Master to see him frowning slightly giving the subdued Natsu a quick once-over. He nodded for her to go on before stuffing his still smoking pipe between his teeth.

"I found something good with a healthy reward, barring unnatural damage due to scorching, freezing, or slashing. Somewhere near Alcalypha. I was walking back to the table where Natsu was sitting and while I stood next to him I started to get really…sleepy. Obviously, it was Mystogan's spell. Next thing I knew I was waking up next to Natsu and the others on the floor. Natsu was acting weird so I called Wendy and Levy. And you know the rest."

Master looked at them both. "That's it?"

Lucy shrugged. "Well, yeah, I don't remember anything else. I was knocked out. I only saw just saw Mystogan's cape as he walked through the doors when he got here. I was facing the right way to catch a glimpse."

Makarov huffed and looked at Natsu. "Well my boy, what do you remember? Anything at all?"

Natsu just shook his head, eyes downcast. He spoke for the first time since they had come into the office. "I don't remember anything, no names or faces. It's all just…blank. The first thing I can remember is the ceiling when I woke up."

"Well, it looks like we will just have to reintroduce you to Fairy Tail again until Porlyusica gets here to check you out. I'll let Lucy do that. You were closest to her anyways." Makarov slapped his hands together once and jumped down to stand in front of them both.

Lucy cocked her head to the side. "Well, I don't know about that. What about Cana or even Mira? They've known him since they all were children, they grew up together here in the guild. We've only been together as partners for nine years…err two."

Master Makarov rolled his eyes at her. "Yes Lucy, you're going to help him. He's your partner and therefore you've made some seriously deep connections over these past couple of years." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

 _Lecherous old pervert._

Lucy knew that they were just friends. Best friends.

Just best friends.

But now they were strangers. Even less than when they met, at least she had heard of the famed Salamander then. But now there was no connection, not really.

She would never leave him behind though, and if Lucy was asked to do something like this…she would do it with no hesitation. Natsu would do whatever it took to find out what happened to her if the situation was reversed.

"Alright, I'll do whatever I can Master." She smiled back at Natsu trying to inject a little hope and happiness about this strange situation before Master nodded and shooed them out of the office.

"You brats can go and wait in the infirmary now." Lucy laced her hand back into her depressingly stoic partner's and pulled him through the door and back into the heart of the main hall.

She had never seen if so subdued in there. With Gray and Erza on a specially requested mission from an old client of theirs and Natsu being so…

…subdued. She didn't know if she could handle this situation with them here causing unnecessary fights and flinging their magic around, asking questions no one could answer.

Thank Mavis for that little piece of good luck. And the fact that Juvia had crept after Gray, there wasn't the possibility of any spontaneous indoor rainstorms was also something that she was grateful for. One of these days the ceilings support beams would rot completely through and come down around their ears.

She pushed through the double doors on the left side of the beer hall and dropped Natsu's hand in the process. The antiseptic smell was pungent and much worse than she remembered it being and knew immediately that it would be worse for Natsu's impressive nose.

"Sorry Natsu, I know the smell is bad, especially for you, just bear with me for a while. You can just there on one of these beds for a bit until Porlyusica comes." He nodded and climbed onto one, swinging his feet a little as he looked at her.

She kind of hated the fact that Natsu was so quiet and restful. It was unnerving.

"Why would the smell in here bother me? It just smells…very clean."

Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples, tired of all the surprises. Maybe if she went to bed and woke up again this would all be some sort of strange dream. She waved his questions away with her hand. "Never mind, it's really not a big deal right now. I bet you have a million questions for me."

He nodded.

"Okay then, what do you want to be answered first?"

He contemplated for a moment, mulling it over in his mind. "Who am I?"

She looked him in the eyes and prayed to see some spark of recognition as she told him a shortened biography of himself. "Your name is Natsu Dragneel, also known as the Salamander of Fairy Tail. You're a fire dragon slayer and have been my partner for about two years, technically nine if you include the time we were under a time lock. You met me in Hargeon, a port town, and brought me here to Fairy Tail, the wizard guild. You live with a blue Exceed named Happy."

"What's an Exceed?"

"An Exceed is a flying, talking, _annoying_ , magical cat. They hail from the floating Island called Extalia which was once part of Edolas when their magic was banished from their world. Long story, really. There are three here in Fairy Tail, and two more at Sabertooth, they all live with dragon slayers."

His eyes were wide with wonder. Lucy could understand that sentiment, it reminded her of when her mother told her stories of the spirits. Of magic. "Talking, flying cats? Really?"

She smiled. "Yah, you hatched one when you were a boy with your friend Lisanna and named him Happy. You go everywhere together and prank literally everyone. Ever since you brought me here to Fairy Tail we've been a team together along with an ice-wizard named Gray Fullbuster and a Re-quip mage named Erza Scarlet."

Quietly, she heard a whispered "Ice-princess."

Lucy immediately got right into his personal space, leaping off the bed across from his in one bound. To his credit, Natsu didn't lean back or flinch away. "What did you say? Where did you hear that name?"

He shrugged again. Lucy almost groaned and slumped down onto the bed next to her partner.

"I don't know, it just seemed like something I would say when that name came up." His face twisted into one of mild disgust.

Lucy could finally feel herself smiling. Gray and Natsu were as thick as thieves when it came down to it, had each other's backs whenever something happened. She knew they were best friends even if they covered it with snipes and fighting. "Is it a good or bad feeling? When the name comes up, I mean."

"I can't tell really. That name makes me want to punch something." His smile was small when he looked back at Lucy.

"A good thing Natsu, I think. At least there's something left in that brain of yours. I don't believe that everything's entirely gone from your mind. Just like you knew that I always keep my promises." He looked thoughtfully at the white sheets of the bed across from him. "Gray's your 'rival' whatever that means. You both constantly fight and bicker like little kids until you've destroyed half the guild hall or Erza knocks you both out."

He looked a bit paler at that statement and cleared his throat. "Okay, so my next question is, who are you?"

"Well, that's easier to explain. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial mage of Fairy Tail. I've been your partner and best friend since you brought me here. I have contracts with 14 different celestial spirits, 10 of which are Zodiac."

Lucy gasped, her hands jolted towards her key pouch on her belt. "Of course! Why didn't I think of this sooner?" Natsu looked just as confused as ever but kept quiet.

Lucy plucked a single silver key off the ring and brandished it.

"Open gate of the Southern Cross, Crux!"

A doorbell rang, as always, followed by a puff of golden smoke which dissipated to show an elderly spirit Lucy relied on for research and most of her book recommendations. Crux was surprisingly good at figuring out just what Lucy wanted to read before she did.

He floated above the ground, taking a quick nap.

Apparently.

Lucy whirled around when a thump startled her. Natsu was on the floor gaping at Crux like he was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. He probably was the craziest thing that had happened in his recent memory. "What the hell! He came out of nowhere!"

She chuckled as Natsu hopped back onto the bed and glanced warily at the slumbering Crux. "Sorry for not warning you Natsu, I did it without thinking how you would react."

"It's okay I guess, just took me by surprise." His face was a bit pinker than usual, embarrassed at his flailing.

Natsu was incredibly endearing when he blushed. Lucy had always thought so, it just didn't happen very often.

He was almost shameless.

"Natsu, meet Grampa Crux…err…again. He is the celestial spirit of the Southern Cross constellation. He helps me out with research sometimes, he's a lot faster than most of us when finding hidden or lost information. He even gives Levy a run for her money and that's saying something."

"Cool, so you call on these…spirits…to help you do things?" When Lucy nodded, he looked back at Crux who was still snoring gently. "Is he sleeping?"

Lucy followed his gaze. "Well, I'm not entirely sure, sometimes this happens when his mind is still in the Celestial Realm. Hey, Grampa Crux! Can you look something up for me?"

"Ah, Miss Lucy, nice to see you again. We haven't talked a lot after your seven-year slumber." Lucy smiled at the cross, happy that that distressing part of her life was behind her.

"I'm sorry Grampa Crux, you know what it's like here at Fairy Tail. Always something happening that requires a huge amount of attention and magic, always a chance for world destruction. Anyway, you know of the situation with Natsu correct?" Crux hummed in acknowledgment. He always seemed to know everything before it happened. "Alright, could you please look up if anything like this has ever happened before and get back to me? I know you'll need time since this situation is just so vague."

"Of course, Miss Lucy, consider it done." He proofed away in a flash of golden light and glittery sparkles.

Lucy shook her head slightly in bemusement at her ostentatious sprits. They were always a bit strange. Honestly, did Crux really need all those sparkles?

Natsu was staring wide-eyed at the spot that previously held Crux. "Huh. That was…weird."

Lucy smiled brightly at his word choice and swept her arms out beside her.

"There you go Natsu that was one of my celestial spirits. I have contracts with them that I try to uphold to the best of my abilities. It's why I don't take promises lightly. My magic power hinges on my ability to keep my word."

Natsu smiled back at her, just as wide as usual, but strangely different seeing as his fangs were gone. "Lucy… what magic do I have?"

She glanced up, hummed a bit before she answered truthfully. "Oh, you have fire dragon slayer magic."

"Yes, but what does that mean? Do I actually go around killing dragons?"

Lucy thought back to the first time she met Natsu and Happy. How did that flying cat put the description of Natsu's power again? "You possess an ancient magic that allows you to breathe, eat, and live in your element; fire. You can never be burned, and any fire you eat will boost your power, but you can't eat any fire that you produce yourself. It was handed down from dragons over the years."

"How did I learn it?"

"Well, your father taught it to you." She fiddled with the sheet under her legs waiting for the next questions she knew would be coming.

"Who's my father?" Lucy sighed lowly.

There it was.

"The fire dragon king, Igneel."

Natsu looks stunned for all of two seconds before he winced and held his head in pain. Lucy quickly leant over and supported his shoulders when he slumped forward.

"Natsu? What the hell was that?"

She watched as he blinked languidly and squinted in the bright lights of the infirmary. Natsu brought his hands up and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know…really. Pain? Sharp pain and bright lights. A red beast, then nothing."

"You okay?"

"Yea. I'll be fine."

The door swung open and brought in three people, one of which stared down at them both as they sat next to each other on the bed. Fury glowed in her red eyes.

"What in Earthland is going on?! Are you the reason I had to come back here again?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at the irate healer. Porlyusica always knew how to make an entrance.


	2. Two

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **Thank you all for the reviews, favourites, and follows. I'm happy I've gone so far in an entire year.**

 **Just as a heads up, as you might have seen Mystogan's name a bunch and I promise this isn't a plot hole. Pinky swear. :3 It'll be explained later. But if you remember from the GMG, how Jellal disguised himself…hint hint.**

* * *

TWO

* * *

Lucy sat outside the infirmary all but kicking her heels against the wall after Porlyusica kicked her out because she was _breathing all over her patient._

Of all the nonsense. It wasn't like she was _draped_ all over Natsu in there…more like he was leaning on her for support after his dizzy spell or whatever it was.

It was nice. But…she missed his overwhelming warmth that came with being a Dragon Slayer.

At least she kicked out Makarov as well. Who, at that moment, was pouting around his pipe like a small child muttering about _crazy witches_. However, Porlyusica let Wendy stay. No one could ever deny that little girl anything, least of all Edolas' counterpart of her adoptive dragon mother.

Lucy twisted her hair around a finger, then watched it unfurl. "What do you think happened to Natsu? Some type of disease? A memory eating spell? A parasite? Mavis _knows_ his house is a damn pigsty. Maybe we should check Happy for the same problem."

He shook his head at her questions. "No, I don't believe this is something that just happened at random. You know from experience that with power and strength, especially in conjunction with rare forms of ancient magic, come despicable people with equally despicable plots." His tone was neutral, but his hands clenched, knuckles white and shaking. One of his children had changed right before his eyes, Lucy didn't blame or judge him for being particularly pissed.

"I understand Master, much better than anyone here, unfortunately. I _was_ the person who was sacrificed to a gigantic clock which then transformed into an even bigger flying metal fish."

Master looked down at the ground and stroked his beard sagely. "I know Lucy. I also believe that we will figure this out…sooner or later. Hopefully before some dark guild comes up with another world ending plot that has us shaking in our hypothetical boots." They chuckled together until it petered out to a thoughtful end.

"Is it just me, or do the dark guilds seriously have a knack for picking on Fairy Tail when they need to end the world? It must have something to do with the huge number of insane wizards that we seem to collect."

"Probably. Honestly, I've never seen a grouping of such powerful mages in my time. Laxus – if he wanted to – could probably be a wizard saint, along with Gildarts, but trying to get him to settle down is like trying to herd Exceeds. I believe Natsu and all the Dragon Slayers in Earthland have more to them than we've ever seen hidden inside them, and not to mention Erza and all the mages that we met at the Grand Magic Games. Even when Mavis was Master of Fairy Tail…it just wasn't the same."

Lucy nodded. Fairy Tail was truly a massive powerhouse filled with the best of the best. Most of the time, it felt like they were sitting on a powder keg and one spark from a patented Natsu and Gray brawl would set the whole thing off.

"Anyways, stay here Lucy and listen to the old bat that's checking up on Natsu, I need to get in touch with Mystogan. This all started with him as far as I can tell. When you're done, please go chat with Levy. You'll find her in the main hall behind the fortress of books." With that remark, he strode away down the corridor, presumably towards his office, but more likely towards Mira and his favourite beer mug.

The door to the infirmary creaked open. Three people shuffled out into the hallway.

Lucy looked up at Porlyusica from her spot on the bench as Natsu flopped down and leant his head against her shoulder, yawning wide. Even though he usually had so much energy, he looked infinitely tired.

She had always attributed his rambunctious nature to just who he was, but now she wasn't so sure. Maybe it was his fire from Igneel that had him so hungry for adventure and she knew for a fact that it was why he acted like a human garbage disposal, eating up everything in sight.

"What's the verdict?"

Porlyusica glared at Natsu's forehead as he snuggled down deeper into Lucy's neck. She liked the feeling of him so close, even if he wasn't as warm as usual. "Like Wendy predicted. Physically he's fine, but memory wise there's nothing there."

"Nothing? Then how did he know that he likes to fight with Gray and that I always keep my promises?"

This time Wendy answered. "It seems that while Natsu has no memories of specific events, places, or even people, the strongest and most prevalent memories were attached to a very strong emotion and left behind those emotions on their way out of his head. Like an imprint of what was there previously."

"Natsu," Lucy looked into his eyes, "Is that what you meant when you said you had a gut feeling earlier? Or when your head hurt?"

He nodded, yawning again, blinking sleepily. "Yeah, when I said you kept your promises, the closest emotion I get was…trusting? Maybe happiness? It's the same when I look into your eyes."

Lucy eyed him closely and noticed his slight blush with a hint of amusement. She chose to ignore her own blush at the same time. "And what about when you heard about Gray for the first time?"

His forehead wrinkles slightly as he frowns. "I want to punch the ever-living crap out of something. Hard. Maybe in the face if possible."

Even when one forgets, their rivalry still lived on.

"That's all well and good, but it gets worse. His magic is gone." Porlyusica delivered the news without any preamble. Lucy whipped around, unbelieving, mouth hanging open like a fish.

"What do you mean his magic is gone? I can still feel it if I focus enough."

She shook her head slowly. "No, you misunderstand, he still _has magic_ , I meant the rare ancient part of it is gone. He is no longer a Dragon Slayer. He's just a stupid human fire mage now. That's why he no longer has his elongated canines and I suspect it also explains why he is abnormally quiet and not destroying everything in sight."

"Well shit."

Lucy didn't know how to handle this at all. Being a Dragon Slayer was Natsu's whole world. It was all he had left from his father other than the scarf around his neck.

Natsu didn't seem too perturbed at the news, but held up his hand and lit his index finger on fire. "Huh. Didn't know I could do that."

The blonde batted his hand away from her hair before he lit _her_ on fire. Although she was glad that he wasn't defenseless.

Porlyusica sniffed and turned on her heel. "I'm done here. Don't call me back unless multiple people are simultaneously dying gruesome bloody deaths, and maybe not even then. Gods I hate you people."

And with that delightful statement thrown over her shoulder, Porlyusica strode purposefully out of the guild hall shooting the finger at Master as he cheekily waved goodbye.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Lucy, I am going to go to Charles. Let me know if you need anything else."

Lucy thanked the tiny Dragon Slayer softly and watch as she bounded away to the bar counter to order something to drink while conversing with her Exceed companion.

She felt someone poke her ribs. "Uhm… Lucy, what do we do now?"

Lucy plastered on a smile that felt a little cracked at the edges. "Come on Natsu, let's go talk to Levy and see what she has to say about this whole mess." Lucy lead Natsu by the hand again to one of the back corners of the guild hall where a veritable castle has been made from large tomes and ancient books.

"Oi, Levy, you in there somewhere?!" Blue hair and bright red glasses peeked over the literary cage.

"Hey, LuLu. I think I've figured something out, well not just me, these ancient texts are so complex in places and almost completely degraded. I had to call in an expert to help me out."

A head of long green hair could be seen through the crack of the book bindings and another, much stiffer voice floated over the stacks. "Miss Heartfilia, it is a pleasure to see you again."

Lucy was infinitely more hopeful now that Freed was helping. Levy and he were some of the brightest minds in the magical world, along with Rufus Lore from Sabertooth. Perhaps…if nothing could be found here, they could contact their friends from the other guild.

"How many times do I have to say it Freed? Just call me Lucy. What have you found? Master suggested we come talk to you." She smiled a bit at his high-class conversation starter, happier than ever that she had left that part of her life behind.

Freed sniffed derisively and eyed her from over a large book on extremely rare hexes.

"Well, _Lucy_ , we believe that it was a spell that wiped Natsu's mind clean of memories. We also believe that the memory loss wasn't the purpose of the spell, it was more of an interesting side effect that works in the perpetrator's favour."

Natsu frowned down at his shoes while Lucy blinked slowly. They were both confused.

Freed thankfully saw their twin puzzled faces and quickly continued.

"As far as we can tell, the spell is just as ancient as the magic that is used to remove from the host. For lack of a better term, it _gouges out_ someone's magic from the roots. It can then be deposited into an empty lacrima, where it can be used as a power source for an inanimate object or implanted into flesh and bone. The closest translation we can get for the name of this spell is 'Detach'. It's a nasty bastardization of the spell used to create true dragon lacrimas, like the one implanted into Laxus."

Natsu looked thoughtfully at Freed, which was something Lucy didn't see very often on his face. He was usually the type to hit first and ask questions later, he probably learned that trait from Erza. That wasn't to say that Natsu never had plans, but rather he trusted his incredible instincts to a fault.

"What does that have to do with my memories? And how did they only get half my magic?" Both were good questions, which Freed seemed to be able to answer, albeit a smidge reluctantly.

"Uhm…well…it is my opinion that before Igneel taught you Fire Dragon Slaying magic that you were either schooled in or had an aptitude for basic fire magic beforehand. When the spell was cast it looked for ancient or lost magic, so it only caught onto your Dragon Slayer magic and subsequently detached it from your body and mind."

Lucy finally caught on. "So, you're saying that because Natsu fights with his whole being including his soul for the people and places he loves, those emotions and deep-rooted memories fuel his magic. When the spell was cast his memories disappeared because he no longer needed them?"

Freed looked grim. "It is more accurately described as his memories were too deeply entangled in his magic that when it was ripped out by force, everything including some feelings and all of his memories went with it."

"Lulu," Lucy glanced over at Levy, willing her friend to tell her some good news. "This magic is crazy difficult to master and uses a gigantic amount of energy to wield, so not just any mage can do it. I think that one of the wizard saints or possibly Laxus or Gildarts could do it if they tried really hard."

Natsu cocked his head to the side. "Both of those mages are incredibly strong, right?" Lucy smiled tightly before agreeing.

"Yeah, you pick fights with them constantly. Trying to beat them whenever they show up at the guild. What do you feel when you think of those two names?"

Natsu looked down at the cracked stones of the floor and scuffed the toe of his right shoe against them. In a small voice, he answered.

"Competitive."

Lucy snorted. "Well, you do yell 'fight me' whenever you see them in the guild hall, attack them without provocation, and then they both usually kick your ass in one hit or knock you out completely. I have to practically peel you off the walls with one of Mira's spatulas every second day."

He rubbed his jaw as if remembering a phantom punch from one of those fights. "Huh, I'll steer clear of them for now at least. Just until I get my real magic back." He grinned at Lucy. It almost looked like his old smile, but it was still lacking something that she couldn't put her finger on.

It wasn't just her imagination. She watched as Levy's eyes widened at the sight of his non-bestial teeth.

"Sure, then you can just go back to almost dying from electrocution or exploding into a million pieces. Just don't come complaining to me when you're hurt and stuff again." Lucy rolled her eyes at him. Natsu was such a competitive man, she doubted that he would ever stop challenging everyone on the merits of improving.

He whined then, the sound made her think of a young child. "But Luuuuuce…."

All their eyes went wide, while Levy and Freed's eyebrows looked liable to jump off the top of their faces. Natsu just looked disgruntled.

Or constipated.

Like he is trying way too hard to force the issue, which usually only happened when he was attempting complicated math problems in his head. Natsu usually left that shit to everyone else, so Lucy hadn't seen it all that often.

Lucy grabbed his biceps – oh my those were very _toned_ – and shook him slightly. "Why did you just call me that? Did you remember something else?"

Natsu just gestured to his stomach area.

Lucy slumped against him, pouting. "Right, gut feeling."

She watched as Levy gave her a significant look, so she went on to clarify the issue. "He's been doing this on and off all morning." She explained to the dynamic research duo. "Wendy says it's like an imprint of what was once there along with the emotions that were strongest in each situation. He already hates Gray without knowing him. Like instincts."

Levy grins happily. "Whatever the reason, I'm just glad that there is something of the old Natsu still in that brain. It's almost like muscle memory, but for the mind instead." She winked at me surreptitiously. "He must have loved your little nickname to remember it even after someone rooted around in his very soul and displaced his memories. Wasn't he the one that gave it to you?"

"…yes…" Lucy gave her blue-haired imp of a friend a shrewd look. "but he's not the only Dragon Slayer to have a nickname a close friend. Eh, Shrimp?"

Levy glowed bright red and flipped a piece of run-away hair over her shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She quickly deflected towards Freed leaving that conversation behind them for the moment.

"I think that's everything for now, although I know I'd like to talk to your spirit, Crux if possible. These books only have a partial incantation for the completion of the spell that took Natsu's magic, and nothing on how to get it back into him."

Lucy smiled and brushed her keys, relaying the question to him through it. It was answered with a warm hum in her mind that usually meant acceptance of her request. "He'll inform me if he finds anything in the Celestial Library."

"Thank Lu, Freed and I will keep the Master updated with any new information we find."

As she gave Levy the we-will-talk-later-about-Gajeel-you-hypocrite look, to which her friend answered with the tried and true get-your-head-out-of-your-ass-your-in-love-with-your-best-friend glare (they'd been having this silent conversation for months now) the front doors slammed open and deeply embedded the left side into the stone wall behind it.

That spectacular display of raw strength and utter disregard for any type of property could only mean two things. The first was that some dark guild was attacking, and the second was that a Fairy Tail wizard had come home.

As there were no running and screaming or extraordinary mayhem above and beyond what usually happened on a day to day basis here at the guild, Lucy had a sinking suspicion she knew exactly who was back because he luck had never been that good.

"WE'RE BAAAAACK!"

Natsu, contrary to his usual greeting of his worst so-called rival, stepped behind Lucy as if to use her as a shield.

She glanced behind her, suspicious of his behaviour. If his pinched expression and hunched shoulders were anything to go by, Natsu looked overwhelmed. Lucy laced her hand in his and watched as his body loosened enough for him to give her a faint smile and a nod.

Lucy couldn't forget that this was all incredibly new to him. Thank the Gods that only his memories of important people and places were taken from him, and not something rooted much deeper. She didn't know if she would be able to take teaching Natsu how to speak again.

Back to the matter at hand, Lucy lamented for a single minute on how she was supposed to explain this whole situation to her friends. Erza would no doubt get angry and demand to search high and low for her vagrant unattached boyfriend while Gray would poke fun at Natsu while trying to start a fight and _win_ because they were no match for each other anymore. How would she survive the next hour without dying an icy, stabby death?

What she really needed was a long hot bubble bath. With wine.

Lots of wine. And then a nap.

Natsu could probably use one too with all his yawning. Maybe they could nap together. He'd sneak into her bed anyway. But first, she had to deal with a red whirlwind of knives and a brooding pile of snow and ice.

Lucy turned around keeping Natsu behind her to see a swish of scarlet hair and a naked torso she knew all too well.

 _Lucky Lucy her ass_.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Master, we have returned." Erza's brilliantly scarlet hair swished as she stomped through the main beer hall dodging flying objects and the odd guild member (Elfman and Gray had started a brawl immediately after arriving), she came to a stop in front of the diminutive man. "The mission went well. Gray and I finished with minimal damages and ahead of time, as per usual."

Lucy rolled her eyes for the millionth time that day. Nothing was ever done with minimal damages in Fairy Tail and even less with her team. She tugged Natsu by the hand behind her ready to get this over and done with and get back to her apartment.

Master took a long sip of his beer and nodded. "Welcome back Erza. I'm glad everything went well."

"Hey, Erza. Uhmm…We have a…uh… _situation_."

"Lucy, why don't we all talk in the office, then all information that has been found can be relayed to everyone and hopefully we can talk to _Mystogan_ as well." Erza looks suspiciously between them, the leant around to look at the uncharacteristically quiet Natsu.

"Why would you need to talk to Mystogan? What's happened?" Master jumped off the bar counter and started to amble away to his office doors.

"Erza, all in good time. Grab Gray and Wendy for me, please. Lucy, can you remove the wonder twins from their tower of books and meet us upstairs?" She nodded and turned towards the corner of the hall the hid Freed and Levy, Natsu trailing behind still looking a little lost.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"So, to summarize. Natsu woke up on the floor with no memories, got a check-up with Porlyusica who says he is just a normal fire mage now, the old spell named 'detach' was the most likely culprit that removed his Dragon Slayer magic, and Natsu only gets strong feelings but no memories when it comes to people or places that he previously knew?" Erza paced up and down the office as everyone else watched her with a hint of trepidation. Titania wasn't known for her patience.

But, you had to hand it to her, the woman knew how to weed through the useless crap and condense it like no other. "Gods, I leave you people for _not even_ one week and you can't even hold it together without another major crisis!" Master looked stricken at her outburst and pouted like a stricken child.

Lucy came to Makarov's aid, it wasn't as if they could have predicted this. "Well, I wouldn't call this a major crisis, per se. It's not like someone is threatening to unleash a whole dragon hoard on us again." Lucy chuckled but cut herself off at Erza's flat look.

"Lucy, that isn't the point. There is someone out there, somewhere in Fiore, with a lacrima packed full of the magic from one of the most powerful dragon slayers ever seen." Twin scoffs echoed from behind them, it seemed that the other slayers were feeling a bit _touchy_ at her statement, while Natsu just sunk down in his seat.

The tiny office felt incredibly cramped. Not only was Lucy's team there, but Wendy and Charles as well as Laxus and the whole of the Thunder Legion. Gajeel, with Pantherlily on his shoulder, leant against the back wall. Levy as well, but she was so tiny and could fit anywhere, so she didn't really count. At the moment, she was squished in between Laxus and Freed still scribbling away in a notebook.

Happy was seated on Master's desk bawling big fat crocodile tears because _Natsu is so mean to forget about me_. _He won't remember to give me fish anymore!_

Damn cat.

"Uhh…well…" Lucy hadn't really thought about what would happen once the lacrima was out in the world. Not really. She had been preoccupied with how it would affect Natsu, and to an extent…her and the team. Her head was throbbing and she was so _so_ incredibly tired.

It also wasn't helping that she could feel the burning glares between Natsu and Gray behind her back. As soon as they had encountered each other in Makarov's office, their rivalry bloomed as if Natsu's mind was whole and sound.

At least they hadn't resorted to petty name-calling.

Yet.

Erza took a gigantic breath in and let it out extremely slowly, like she was using an enormous amount of effort not to go all 'Heaven's Wheel' on everyone's asses.

The roomed stilled as she pinched the bridge of her nose and then turned back around to face the Master. Thankfully she calmed down enough to ask the most important question everyone had on the tip of their tongues.

"What does this have to do with Jellal?"

Makarov adopted a contemplative tone. "You all remember how Mystogan stayed behind in Edolas?" They all nodded, except Natsu who was still shooting Gray dirty looks over Lucy's shoulder. "Well, after the GMG and Eclipse Gate fiasco, I told Jellal to keep the spare staves and cloak I gave him so that if he ever needed to contact us in person, he could do it as inconspicuously as possible. Most of Fiore, except for a select few in the council and some of our members here, think that Mystogan is still here in Magnolia."

"I must say Master, that _is_ a good plan, although Jellal never said anything to me when I saw him last." Erza twirled a strand of hair around her fingers in a fit of bashfulness that no one usually saw. She refused to make eye contact with anyone in the room.

"Yeah, but Erza, how much of your visit was actual talking, with like…words, and how much of it was letting your bodies talk for you?" It came as no surprise that it was Bickslow who stage whispered this _tidbit_ to Evergreen who tittered into her hand. Lucy couldn't believe the man he had the balls to ask the most temperamental woman in all of Magnolia if she spent most of her time with her estranged child hood friend doing the horizontal tango.

He had a pair of brass ones.

Everyone looked like they were trying as hard as they could to not be caught smiling, or Gods forbid _laughing_ , by the red-haired demon.

Cause no one needed one of her sharp pointy swords to rip them a new asshole.

However, to everyone's surprise, her face turned a brilliant shade of puce. Very quietly, they all heard "We talked for twenty minutes. Give or take."

Lucy shot Gray that _look_ , that one that screamed I-know-she's-bullshitting-out-her-asshole cause they were there on that mission, Erza and Jellal were mysteriously gone for over two hours and she had to entertain a very bored Natsu.

Gray shrugged, with a smug smile on his face, which fell into a scowl as he eyed Natsu who had sidled over closer to Lucy's shoulder and glared back. She pushed their faces away from her to get a little room from the strange feeling of blistering heat on one side and frigid chill on the other.

Natsu subtly poked Lucy in the side and whispered lowly, breath ghosting over her ear. "Hey Luce, what does that mean? Let your bodies talk for you?"

Nope. She wasn't going down that avenue right now. Lucy knew Natsu was a bit dense, but he wasn't stupid, and a quick learner. His instincts in battle and split-second decisions that saved them all time and time again were a good indication of his level of intelligence.

"Later Natsu." She waved his confused face away with a flap of her hand. There were more important things at hand.

Like where the hell Natsu's magic went for one thing.

"I have been trying to get a hold of Jellal since Lucy talked to me this morning, but I haven't been able to reach him. However, I believe that it wasn't Jellal who came to us, but an imposter dressed like him."

The room stilled for a moment before everyone opened their mouths to speak. But Makarov held his hand up to stop them all from talking over one another.

Freed poked his head over the large book he was speed reading and spoke up. "Master, how did you come to this conclusion? Could it have not have been Jellal who came this morning and another mage followed behind in the wake of the spell that made us all unconscious?"

The Master shook his head at that. "I don't believe that to be the case Freed. Whenever Jellal comes to the guild hall this way, he finds me directly, which he did not. I didn't even know he was here until after the fact. If I'm here, the only other one who isn't taken down by the sleep spell is Laxus, and he didn't see Jellal either."

Lucy finally knew why the Thunder Legion was here, other than Freed of course.

"So, if Jellal didn't put the whammy on fire-breath over here, then who did?" As soon as Gray let the words fly, Lucy felt the air around her instantly rise at least 20 degrees.

Lucy rolled her eyes and flicked Natsu's closest ear annoyed at the fact that she was now sweating like a pig in a cramped tiny room with an out of control fire mage breathing down her neck while muttering insults under his breath.

"Are you okay Lucy? You look constipated or something. You know you really shouldn't try to force it like that." It seemed that Happy was finally done crying and was looking for someone to pull his damn whiskers out.

One by one.

"Oh, shut up you stupid cat." She didn't have the energy or wherewithal for her usual quippy come back.

"All right. On that note, I believe that Natsu should train with Macao and Romeo to try to harness his magic again so he isn't left defenseless. Levy and Freed, please keep researching on how to put Natsu's magic back into his body when we do find this lacrima. Laxus and company, try to find out if Mystogan has been sighted anywhere in Magnolia recently and search the surrounding areas if he has. Lucy, please take Natsu to find the Conbolt's and accompany him around today, maybe job his synapses a bit. Gray and Erza will go with you. Wendy, if possible please contact Porlyusica to try to find out how to safely put a lacrima inside him as a last resort, I don't think she'll yell at you." Everyone grumbled a bit at their assignments. Wendy looked stricken at the thought of calling the aged healer for the second time in one day.

"What about me old man?" Makarov peered around all the bodies still milling about the room and squinted at the back corner.

"Ah, Gajeel. I need you to go undercover again. See if there is any chatter going around the dark guilds about newly found dragon lacrimas or if a specific guild is gearing up for something big. But be discrete as possible, more people recognize you since the GMG."

Gajeel nodded and let his shadow form waver. "Gihi, finally something interesting to do."

Having already found Natsu's hand in hers – when had that happened? – Lucy scooped up Happy and led the quiet ex-Dragon Slayer off into the beer hall, the rest of her team trailing behind them. "Come on, let's go find Romeo. He's really improved lately and he emulates you, Natsu, I bet he would love to teach you a few things."

Natsu grinned a little wider than that morning and walked faster. Lucy felt a surge of hope in her that if worst came to worst, and Natsu couldn't be restored to his former glory…that everything would turn out alright.

Different, but alright.


	3. Three

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **Enjoy the chapter my precious cupcakes :3**

* * *

THREE

* * *

Natsu wasn't sure of many things at the moment, but he was positive he at least understood exactly three things.

One, he was absolutely certain that _Gray_ was the worst person ever and he was justified in the glaring matches that they had been sharing.

The second being the small blue cat… _Exceed_ …whatever, was the most mischievous thing in the entire world. The glimmer in Happy's eyes was nothing short of devilish.

And three…Lucy's hips were incredibly hypnotizing. They swung like a pendulum in front of him and he felt a trickle of heat creep down his spine.

He liked being lead around by her, with her hand clasped firmly in his own. He could feel the rough calluses on the pads of her fingers and palms, and it made him feel warm.

Safe.

Content.

Another great reason was the view. Small skirt, swaying hips, legs that just kept going. He still had basic bodily functions still and those pesky, sometimes painful emotions that dredged up flashes of the memories and the imprints they had left behind.

Some of them were fleeting glimpses of _something_ , but most had revolved around the woman that he was trailing behind like a lost pet.

He already knew he was hopelessly out of his depth. With his magic, with Lucy…with _everything_ that had been going on since he could remember.

Had he really only been that morning that he had woken up unaware of everything? It felt like days and weeks instead of mere hours.

The most troubling thought that had silently slipped through his broken mind was the fact that he didn't have the full extent of his magic now. He didn't even know _how_ to use what little was left, let alone do anything heroic to protect the most important people in his life.

He didn't know much, but he knew all these people in this building…guild…in Fairy Tail, were his most precious people. And if anyone asked…Lucy would be somewhere at the top.

It was either instinct or an impression or gut feeling, but he would follow that woman around to the ends of the world, go where she went, protect her without a second thought.

But he also had a distinct feeling that it went both ways. She would be by his side through thick and thin, remind him of what was important, keep him grounded. Trust him completely…

He cringed and staggered back into Gray who had been trailing behind him. The brooding popsicle shoved him and cursed until Lucy – who had stumbled when Natsu had suddenly stopped walking – pushed in between them with such a worried look on her face that Gray lost his trail of thought, words petering out into an awkward hush.

But Natsu didn't notice any of that because his head was pounding again and he was so dizzy that he just _wanted the world to stop spinning for one minute, please_.

Then a flash, a single image that lasted for a moment and a thousand years.

She was plummeting off a tower screaming his name. Phantom pain burst through his lungs and his legs and his heart squeezed with panic while his stomach squirmed and flopped about.

Golden hair whipped around her face, eyes shut tight.

Falling.

 _Falling_.

She was going to crash into the ground and he needed to go so much fucking faster. She was going to die and she was screaming for him. For _him_ to catch her.

He couldn't move fast enough, he was going to miss—

Like a rubber band, he snapped back into the present, heart beating wildly, panting and heaving as if it

had all just happened.

"Natsu? Can you hear me?"

He nodded and swallowed thickly, finally noticing that he was shaking with adrenaline and terrified over the fact that he hadn't been able to catch her. But Lucy was there, she was standing right in front of him, amber eyes stormy with confusion and worry.

"What happened?"

"—you jumped. You were falling and I—I couldn't…"

Her hands caught both sides of his face and he was forced to stare directly at her fierce expression. "You caught me. You always do."

His heart stuttered again. "How many times has this happened?"

She laughed quietly and waved the question off like she didn't launch herself over cliffs and off towers with only the thought that he would be at the bottom. It was ludicrous. She was mystifying and it terrified him. "At least…twice? Probably more."

"What?!" His yelp startled her into giggling.

"I'll tell you all about it later. But you always catch me Natsu. Always."

"How can you be so sure? What if—?"

Lucy shook her head vehemently. "No. You will always catch me."

"How do you know that?"

Her blinding smile punched him in the stomach and he was breathless for a moment. "Cause I trust you."

Natsu nodded slowly, remembering the overwhelming _trust_ that had ripped that broken memory out of his mind. It wasn't just his trust in her, it was the feeling of her trust in him.

It was almost too much, and he didn't know what to do but stare at her some more. He knew without a doubt that he would do anything in his power to catch her before she ever hit the ground.

An awkward cough pulled Natsu back to himself as Erza slid pointed looks at them both. They were surrounded by bewildered and amused guild members while a slyly snickering Happy floated above Gray's head.

"They _like_ each other."

Lucy rolled her eyes, ears pinking slightly as she breezily sidestepped the true meaning of that statement from the blue-furred devil. "Of course I do. Natsu is my best friend."

Natsu's stomach erupted in warmth and he glanced down surprised that he wasn't actually on fire. That was something he could do, right? He had heard enough from Makarov and Lucy to know he accidentally lit lots of things on fire.

But no. It was just a feeling he had. Something…inherently _happy_.

He was pleased that he was her friend. Her _best friend_. That meant that they were close, right?

"You know that's not what I mean Lushi." Happy floated down into her arms again and snuggled up to her bosom.

Lucy only sighed and hummed noncommittally, shot the sniggering guildmates a flat look that had them turning hastily around, before continuing on their path to the bar.

She still hadn't let go of his hand, and that was more than okay with him. They were best friends after all.

Although…as Natsu watched Lucy bark at Gray to _stop unbuttoning your pants, I don't need to see your dick again you ridiculous stripper_ he thought that perhaps best friends wasn't quite the words he was looking for.

It didn't seem like enough.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Hey Mira, where's Romeo? I thought he would be back from that job he was on but I can't find him anywhere." Lucy plunked down the lightly snoozing cat in her arms on top of the bar counter, and watched as he just rolled over mumbling about 'sweet fishies.'

Erza and Gray split off from them, accepting a couple of dark drinks from a woman wearing a bright blue bikini and chestnut hair.

Natsu took a seat at the bar beside Lucy and looked around at the white-haired woman in front of them.

A shiver of trepidation ran down his spine. He knew that this woman, however, sweet looking was inordinately terrifying.

"Good afternoon Lucy, Natsu. I got word from Max earlier today, he and Romeo got waylaid in Oshibana. Something about the trains being down for routine maintenance. They should be back tomorrow in the afternoon sometime." Mira smiled sweetly and waved one of her hands around in an airy manner.

A frown started to pull at Lucy's face. Natsu didn't really like that look on her, the smile she sometimes wore was so much better. "Don't worry Luce, it won't kill me for a day."

She looked at him and contemplated her options. "Yeah, I guess not. Master asked me to show you around, jog your mind if I can. At the very least help you find your way around Magnolia without getting lost, seeing as you don't have your enhanced senses anymore." A small smile started to curl at the edges of her mouth replacing the frown.

"You know, you don't look so weird when you smile." The bare truth slipped out of his mouth before he could reel it back into his throat. The words felt natural though like he had said them a million times before.

Or maybe he had only thought them.

"Thanks, Natsu." To his relief, and ever maddening surprise, Lucy started to giggle and an _absolutely adorable_ blush started to wind its way up her cheeks, tinting them a light pink hue.

It was cute, and he couldn't help that self-satisfied smile that pushed his lips.

"You know, I should be used to you calling me weird by now."

It was another one of those instincts that he had, something that he had strong feelings over. Lucy shook her head a little and swiveled back towards Mira and abruptly froze in her seat.

The woman looked ravenous even though there was nothing more than a placid smile on her face.

It was in her eyes, the look of a predator that had zeroed in on a kill.

"Oh Natsu, how nice of you to complement Lucy like that, it was very…. _unexpected_." She murmured demurely as her ice blue eyes flashed.

Something thumped against the wooden bar top beside him.

Lucy had dropped her forehead onto the counter in front of her and huffed tiredly. "Mira, stop it, he has no memories and his magic is gone, we're tired and I want a bath and lots of wine. I would also like it if you would stop playing gam—Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Did she stop listening?"

"Uh huh."

"She's humming, right?"

"Yes."

"Twirling around with a manic look in her eyes that could scare anyone into an early grave?"

"Uhhh…yeah."

Which was the truth, the barmaid had stopped listening somewhere during Lucy's tirade and was now gracefully spinning around and refilling drinks for other patrons.

Lucy rolled her face to look at her partner, her cheek pressed against the wood grain. "She'll be preoccupied for hours." She stifled a yawn and Natsu finally remembered how tired he was.

His eyelids drooped as he yawned wide. He could probably sleep right here in the bustling beer hall of this noisy guild.

"I think a nap is actually in order."

"That sounds—" His words were cut off with a louder, longer yawn than the last. Even his _bones_ were exhausted. "—great."

"Come on Natsu. Let's get out of here while we can."

He was already halfway out of his seat, clumsily reaching for her hand before he caught himself. Lucy's cool hand slipped into his as if she didn't see his hesitation. She tugged him out the large double doors letting them boom softly behind them.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Lucy had shown him the quickest route to her apartment, but Natsu knew that he wouldn't be able to retrace his steps if his life depended on it. He was more interested in the town and all the _people_ and the way Lucy glowed as she passionately explained things.

She pulled a small brass key off a separate ring on her belt, unlocked the door and stumbled into her apartment with Natsu right behind her.

They kicked off her shoes and ambled up the stairs slowly. Natsu stopped in his tracks at the top when he watched her face twist into something strange.

Was she bemused? Confused?

Something like that.

"What?"

She snorted and shook her head. "It's nothing really. I was just thinking about how that was the first time you've used my front door since I moved in here."

"Seriously?"

"Well, yeah. You aren't the most _conventional_ person in the whole world."

"How the hell do I usually get in?"

Lucy laughed at his bewildered face and pulled thick blankets and a couple pillows out of her linen closet. "It took me a couple of weeks to figure it out and catch you at it because you were normally just waiting for me to get home. I should have caught on earlier…"

Natsu followed her pointed finger towards the closest wall. "The window? I would break in through the damn window?"

"Yeah."

He stuck his head out the open window and looked down, balking at the distance to the ground. " _What the fuck_." He whispered to himself. "Who the hell am I? _What the hell am I_?"

"I got used to it after a while. You kept doing it and refused to use the door because it was too _normal_ or something."

"Normal?"

"Sorry to break your brain Natsu, but none of us at Fairy Tail are normal. You eat fire like it's going out of style and were raised by a Dragon, Erza has a strange and terrifying love of all things strawberry, Gray has his own stalker and I was once sacrificed to a temple that turned into a giant fish. And Happy…is just Happy. That's just our team too."

"You were sacrificed?"

"Oh. You bet. It's crazy how many times people have come after one of us because of our magic. There was this one time…"

They fell back onto the couch, legs tangled, and covered in blankets while Lucy told him all about Zentopia and the Neo Oracion Seis.

Their tiredness was forgotten for the moment.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Lucy woke up only hours later to a blood-red sunset. Realizing that they had dropped off into slumber on the couch while in the middle of her stories, she blearily looked down at her best friend.

His face was smashed between her and the couch, face pressed into her stomach, small snores escaping ever once and a while.

She shifted to give him more room but she couldn't move too far away. Natsu's arms were wrapped around her like a clingy octopus preventing her escape.

Even she could recognize that she didn't truly want to leave this bubble of peace. But she tried for posterities sake but gave up after only a couple of seconds.

Lucy sighed and let a small smile brighten her face. Laying back on the pillow, she swept the spiky pink bangs back from his forehead.

Natsu grumbled and murmured slightly before settling back down.

Lucy closed her eyes as her heart gave a silly twirl in her chest, happy for the moment that this was familiar, that Natsu still unconsciously stayed close to her.

Some things never change.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Natsu woke, still drowsy but he definitely felt better than he did earlier that day. He watched the moon rise high into the sky while the stars glimmered.

He didn't move away from his blonde captive in his arms, he didn't want to. He was warm and comfortable. Listening to Lucy breathe and hearing her heartbeat was oddly soothing, and it did wonders to ease his whirling mind.

 _Home_.

An inexplicable feeling of contentedness flowed through him like a river.

He relaxed back and breathed in slowly, letting his mind go, not thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow, or the day after, not worry about his memories, and just enjoyed the feeling of being safe.

Before he dropped off again, he had a thought that perhaps home wasn't a building, but a person.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

At breakfast the next day, Natsu was startled out of a bacon haze – he had _never_ tasted something so delicious before – by Lucy as she dropped seven leather bound books beside his plate.

"What're these Luce?"

She smiled and brushed the spine of one of them with a fond smile. "Our adventures."

Natsu quickly pulled the top one off and cracked it open to the first page were the words "The Battle of Fairy Tail" in neat cursive.

She gently pulled the book out of his hands and replaced it with the thinnest one that was bound in a soft hunter green. "Here Natsu, I know you have lots of questions, about everything I would imagine. This is everything that's happened to us since you brought me home to Fairy Tail for the very first time. It's all from my perspective, but I think it'll help your curiosity."

He opened the one he held to see the same writing with the simple title of "The Salamander" and grinned up at Lucy who looked down bashfully.

"You wrote all of these?"

"Every single one. I've never let anyone read them before, but if they have to be read by someone other than me, then it would always be you."

His eyes flitted down to the first page. "I'm the Salamander, right?"

Lucy smiled and laughed. "Just read Natsu, I promise they were answer everything you want to know about our life together fighting and living and going on adventures. I'm going to take that bath that I wanted yesterday then we can head back to the guild after lunch. We can talk to Romeo and train with him if you think you're ready."

Natsu nodded absently, already immersed in her written world that seemed so alive. She giggled at this side of her best friend that she rarely got to see. He was so hyperactive that this amount of inactivity was strange.

Lucy ran her fingers through his hair and tousled the unruly locks further. "Call if you need anything, alright?"

She didn't get an answer, but that was okay with her. The bath was calling her name.

Natsu kept reading, feeling a pull from these words deep in his mind, every sentence read with a hint of déjà vu. This was his life too, but he didn't remember it at all.

 _…his hair was the strangest shade of pink I've ever seen and when I locked eyes with him…the Salamander's spell broke almost immediately. That disgusting creep had been using a charm spell on everyone, but thanks to the boy and his flying cat, I wasn't another victim…_

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Natsu!? What the hell?"

"…fucking _Bora_ was using my name? To kidnap women!? What the fuck!"

"Yes, I realize it was an injustice to your good name or whatever, but he was taken to jail by the rune knights. We saved all those girls on his ship and the human trafficking ring was broken."

"Okay. Right."

"Good. If that's all…could you please get the hell out of my bathroom! I'm naked Natsu! GET OUT!"

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"All right brats, stop your blabbing and report back. Laxus, please tell us what you've found while you were hunting down Mystogan."

Two days after the first meeting, Makarov had called for an emergency convening of everyone who had been tasked with figuring out what the hell happened and where Natsu's magic had gone. The only thing he would tell them was that Gajeel had come across something big, but even he didn't know what it was.

Romeo had been invaluable to Natsu for two entire days, first by teaching him the basics of fire magic – as he had learned from his father Macao – then moving into intermediate spells when Natsu caught on awfully fast. It turned out Natsu's fire was very close to Totomaru, one of the vanquished Element Four, although Natsu couldn't control fire to the extent that he could.

Unbelievably, or perhaps it was quite believable when Romeo had started to show Natsu moves that he used in sparring against other opponents, his body had still remembered everything that he previously. Muscle memory as it were. Lucy was relieved and Natsu was as well, glad beyond belief that at least part of him knew how to fight still. Unfortunately, he had to unlearn some of his regular moves. The first time Natsu had shut his brain off and let his body fight on instinct alone, he had done a maneuver that he normally didn't need to think about it, but as he breathed deep and yelled "Fire Dragon's Roar" he was bowled over with a splitting headache and weak knees, along with a fleeting vision of a massive red beast.

"What the hell was that?"

"Oh? The Dragon?"

"Yeah."

"That's your father. Igneel."

"Goddamn, he's big."

Lucy had laughed herself into tears. "No shit Natsu. He was a Dragon."

They were happy though, that Natsu wouldn't be as vulnerable as they thought, and with Lucy at his side, they would be a formidable team.

Although, Lucy had reminded him that he would need to learn what each of her spirits did, and meet them all again so that there were no misunderstandings in the middle of a battle. He had laughed loudly and reminded her of their first unofficial mission together, going after Macao on Romeo's behest.

He had attacked Taurus thinking he was another monster.

Natsu had been devouring the books of her reading, although there hadn't been much time between training and sleeping in the past two days. He had asked Lucy to carry the current journal he was reading everywhere they went and pulled it out at periodic down times.

Like where they were now, situated in the Master's office, squished together like sardines in a can. Natsu was seated in an armchair with Lucy perched on the arm, completely engrossed in the third journal bound in light gold fabric that shimmered in the light. Lucy smiled as she recognized that one.

It was their first official guild quest, the one they took to destroy the book Daybreak.

Everyone had given Natsu a bewildered look, trying to wrack their minds for another time they had witnessed the Slayer completely still and silent while _reading_.

Lucy held no illusions though. She knew that Natsu – if he wanted to show it – was brilliant in his own right – his actions during fights where obvious. He could be _obtuse_ but never dumb. He just usually didn't give a shit about stuff like that.

The only one that seemed to take offense in the fact that Natsu wasn't paying attention to them, was Gray. Who had tried on more than one occasion to get him riled up. But he was brushed off easily by Natsu who with only a single scowl and a "piss off ice princess" had gone back to his book. So, Gray pouted and threw Natsu petulant glares over his shoulder and once tried to get into his face, but was stopped by Erza's hand clamping down on his shoulder in an iron grip.

So now here they were, with Gray on the other side of Erza with both her and Lucy standing in between them, with an engrossed Natsu silently sniggering over Virgo's original form on one side and a fidgety ice make mage on the other. Erza's presence really helped to ensure "good behaviour" but Lucy was under the impression that Natsu wasn't really thinking about brawling at the moment, as the last one – which was instigated by a very idiotic Natsu calling Gray out of his "tiny icicle dick" only that morning – that had sucked in mages from all over the guild that didn't usually brawl, including Levy and a very annoyed Laxus.

Natsu was still sporting a bruised jaw and Gray's shiner was practically glowing against his pale skin.

Wendy had refused to heal them on the basis that they were being stupid. Lucy agreed and no amount of whining from Natsu had her changing her mind.

She was still pissed that they managed to ruin another one of her skirts.

Thus, the physical barrier between the ice princess and fire crotch.

Suddenly, in the middle of the lull, while everyone got their notes in order, a large burst of golden light and bedazzling sparkles lit up the room, scaring the pants off all the mages present in the office.

It literally scared the pants off Gray.

As well as his shirt.

"Holy hell Loke!" The playboy lion took a short bow to the Master and turned towards Lucy with a wiggle of his eyebrows and practiced sex-eyes. "Lucy, my lioness, your love called me through the gate into this realm...your knight in perfectly tailored armor has arrived."

Lucy scoffed and rolled her eyes, slightly pissed that Loke had so much power he could just walk through his gate at any time. Handy if she needed help but didn't have enough magic power to open another gate. Not so helpful when she was…in the bath and he just showed up out of nowhere.

Repeatedly.

"Can it fuzzball, we both _know_ I didn't summon you. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you remember the conversation we had last week about you popping in and out of your own accord?"

She watched Wendy wave the lingering glitter in the air away before she sneezed. "And seriously Loke, what the hell is with all the sparkles lately?"

"Oh, you mean the conversation we had after I materialized in the shower with you? That one?" Lucy's eyes snapped up towards the obnoxious cat whose grin seemed to be splitting his face in half.

Natsu's head whipped over to glance at Loke, his book snapped shut with more force than necessary in a clenched hand.

"Yes, that conversation." She snipped back at Loke. Natsu shot annoyed glares towards the flirty cat spirit as he stalked towards his key-wielder.

Loke adjusted his glasses on his nose and gave me the once-over with his green eyes. "I chose to ignore most of what you said, truthfully I don't remember it all that well, I was…distracted…by all that skin." He practically purred, obviously reminiscing happier times.

Lucy crossed her arms under her bust and feigned disinterest, but her small smile was wicked. "Tsk. Naughty kitty. What would Aries think if she caught you flirting with me?"

Loke look torn between answering with another painfully obvious pick up line and sobering completely as he was entirely loyal to the ram spirit.

Gray sniggered into his closed fist. "Shit, she's got you there man."

Collectively, the guilds foremost perverts chuckled and guffawed like morons. Which wasn't to say much because all but Wendy, Levy – because she was engrossed in an ancient book as big as her head – and Natsu, who was too busy giving Loke a look that would have killed the pesky cat many times over if it were at all possible.

The temperature in the room started to rise which was a surprise to Lucy especially. He never usually had problem with his body heat regulation.

She would have to ask Romeo about that when they saw him next.

"Loke," Lucy's no-nonsense tone stopped him in his enthusiastic rendition of their extravagant wedding they were going to have in the future, "why are you even here? I've been waiting for Crux to get back to me, but haven't heard anything yet."

"Crux found something and was going to let you know, but I haven't been to Earthland in a while and volunteered to come in his stead. He's been researching the problem with Natsu since you summoned him last. He's found out bits and pieces of information that might be of help, but would like to confer with Levy sometime to help accumulate and narrow down the data." I look over at the Levy and she nodded.

"Please tell Grandpa Crux that I will be summoning him later to help with the research, but after this meeting is done."

Loke grinned back at Lucy, but it was strained. He always worried needlessly about her, ever since the Dragon King Festival. "Anything for you…princess, call me if you need help in the shower again, I would love to wash your back. Oh, and the sparkles are just for fun. You know you love it when I make an entrance." Loke winked one before he dropped a loud smacking kiss to her forehead. He poofed away in a shower of effervescence that looks suspiciously like a fairy exploded.

Lucy was stunned for a moment before she smiled fondly. She knew that Loke would always have her back in everything they did together. He was a loyal lion after all. A true Leo.

"Tch, show-off." Natsu rolled his eyes, opened the journal and continued reading. He didn't look very happy and his temperature was still climbing.

Fast.

"Damn it Natsu! Tone down the heat would yah? It's like a fucking sauna in here." Laxus and Bickslow throw off their ever-present cloaks onto Evergreen and she buckled slightly from the weight of them.

Natsu smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck and the air decreased to a bearable temperature. "Sorry, I still don't quite have a hold of that feature of my magic yet. Romeo says it will take some time to get it."

Master Makarov tapped out a pile of used herbs from his pipe and reloaded. "Let's get back on track, shall we? Laxus, your report please."

"We searched for two full days using my teleportation to get us between towns. The last time anyone saw a hint of Mystogan was way out in the Waas Forest, but that was over a month ago. The witnesses said that he had a woman with pink hair with him, which at this point we believe was Meredy."

Master stroked his beard sagely, letting smoke rings drift up towards the ceiling. "I see. Well, we can't really confirm or deny anything until we get a hold of Jellal. I still can't get a reply from him. Alright, Wendy, you spoke to Porlyusica about implanting the lacrima into Natsu again, yes?"

Twin pigtails bounce as she nodded. "Yes master, I called as soon as you asked, but she needed to do some research about it. She called me back last night after I left the guild for the evening. She says that it is possible to implant the lacrima back into his body. However, she says that the lacrima and the magic inside of it may not take to him as before, and there is no guarantee that he would even survive the process." She grimaced. "She also gave us a warning about the magic housed in the lacrima. She says that because it holds such ancient magic that the lacrima will start to break down and deteriorate. Natsu's magic along with his memories will be lost if too much time passes."

"How much time do we have child?" Master asked gently. Lucy's hand crept silently into Natsu's where it sat limply on the open book page. She squeezed lightly to give comfort, and he leaned into her side as if to soak up her warmth.

"We have no more than a month until everything is lost. She recommends that we don't take longer than two weeks though, as a precaution." Wendy was on the verge of tears now. Erza opened her arms and dragged the tiny Slayer into a gentle hug as Charles whispered from her spot in the young mage's arms.

"Thank you, Wendy. Please let Porlyusica know that we might need her services to implant the lacrima later if all else fails to transfer Natsu's magic back into him without the need of surgery." Makarov rose his eyebrows towards Levy and waved his hand.

"What have you two found out?" Master looked at them with expectant eyes.

Levy pulled out reams of yellowed parchment covered in strange languages and runes, giving half to Freed to hold. "As far as we can tell Master, it is entirely plausible that we could put Natsu's magic back into him. We would just need to reverse the spell and have someone with an abnormal amount of magical power cast it. You would have the necessary reserves to do it, Master, Gildarts could do it too if we could find him…maybe Laxus in a pinch, but it's a fifty-fifty shot with him."

I swivel around to look at Levy, but I get caught off guard by the affronted look on Freed's normally stoic face. "Laxus could do the spell no difficulties _Ms. McGarden_ , just you watch." Freed sniffed and looked over at Laxus with puppy dog eyes.

The hulking man just rolled his eyes, pretending to not notice Freed's gaze while he fiddled with his sound pod. However, a hint of a blush was creeping up his neck turning the tips of his ears pink, whether from embarrassment at Freed's words or something else.

 _Interesting._

Lucy caught Bickslow's glowing green eyes beneath his visor and he grinned, showing off his guild mark. She mused silently that Laxus and Freed would make a good pair, as soon as Freed stopped his hero worship and Laxus pulled his head out of his ass.

"Well, that's good to hear about his magic. But you never mentioned his memories."

Freed sighed heavily. "It's because we just don't know. We can't even project the possibility of his memories being correctly inserted again because as far as we can tell, this situation that has arisen has never happened before. The spell should only take away a person's magic. So, we are literally out of our depths in this case. Hopefully conferring with Ms. Lucy's spirit will shed some light on the issue."

"So, what does this mean for me? Will I not get my memories back?" Natsu sounded like he was gearing up for a panic attack. His body temperature rose again. Lucy shifted closer to keep him grounded.

"Calm down Natsu, you're making me sweat again, and not in a good way." Gray stripped of his undershirt – which was a miracle that he still had it on – and stood in only his boxers. This wasn't anything new to anyone. We had all seen way too much of the ice mage than we had ever wanted to see.

Natsu's face contorted to one of confusion, anxiety forgotten for a moment. "When would you ever sweat in a _good way_?"

Gray looked smug. "Sex, you flaming fart. I meant sex."

The ex-Slayers eyes cleared up instantly. "Oh. Why didn't you just say so?"

Just as Lucy suspected, the gleam in Natsu's eyes was a knowing one. She always suspected that he acted denser than he _actually_ was. That way, people underestimated him and his enemies were always caught off guard.

Although Lucy had to admit, the smirk on her best friend's place was much more sensual than she remembered. It made him look roguish and charming.

"Natsu…where did you learn about sex?" Because it wasn't Lucy who had explained it to him this time around, and she knew for a fact that it was Gildarts who had done the birds and the bees with Natsu when he was much younger.

Natsu gave her a flat look and threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Bickslow."

 _Of course_.

It was either him or Cana. Those two were just two smutty little peas in an even smuttier pod.

Lucy shot a look at Bickslow who only grinned back at her with no shame in his eyes. "Don't look at me Cosplayer, he asked."

"I asked only because I literally saw it happening – which was just all kinds of weird – right in front of my eyes."

Lucy gripped his shoulder. "What do you mean you saw it? You have no memories." I looked around the room and everyone looked over at Natsu expectantly. All but Laxus and Bickslow. Wendy looked like was trying to find a hole to swallow her up and spit her back out somewhere far away from this conversation.

"I wouldn't have any memories of it Mira hadn't asked me to grab another bottle of spiced rum from the _far_ back storage room last night."

Natsu's grin widened into a wicked point before his eyes flashed over to Gray.

The ice-make mage was standing perfectly still with murder in his eyes. He has visibly stiffened but looked like a frightened animal about to bolt.

A smirk found its way back onto Natsu's face as he hummed before continuing his story.

"You would not believe what I saw the ice-princess doing to that brown haired drunk, I didn't even know anyone could contort like that." As one, all the heads in the room swivel to take in a slumped Gray who looked completely defeated.

Suddenly, it started to pour outside. Like the heavens were trying to drown them for their sins.

"Oh Fuck, Juvia's gonna murder Cana." Bickslow cackled in the background as the door slammed open and an actual tidal wave swept through the room.

Sometimes it was hard to forget that Gray had a literal stalker that loved to eavesdrop.

A loud voice screeched "LOVE RIVAL" and no one had any doubts about who was yelling. Everyone laughed and tried to stand again after being bowled over by the impromptu flood.

Natsu hauled a shivering Lucy into his lap. He raised his body temperature - this time on purpose - as she started to shiver.

"You are so dead you flaming fire fuck."

Said fire fuck only shrugged and smiled so innocently that Lucy could _almost_ believe it. Until he looked down at her and winked, situating her in his lap so that they were more comfortable.

Lucy shot a look at Levy who shook her head and gave her another pointed look. This one was well used seeing as their family was full of Fairy Tail mages.

The _I haven't got a fucking clue_ look.

"Alright then…uhm…Lucy, please tell us what you have observed about Natsu and his abilities over the past two days." Master tried to bring the meeting back to order while everyone was wringing out their hair and clothes the best they could onto the stone floor. Erza just re-quipped into dry armour.

Cheater.

Natsu reached up and ran his hands through his hair, letting the steam swirl up towards the ceiling. He started on Lucy's hair – who thanked him quietly – while she addressed the entire room. "Luckily Natsu's fighting abilities weren't taken. He is still being taught by Romeo to control his fire abilities, but his instincts are still ingrained into his body, like muscle memory or something. He just can't do some of his Fire Dragon abilities. He has lost all his heightened senses, and is less resilient seeing he has no access to his Dragon scales or Dragon force."

Master seems satisfied before he pulled a pocket watch out then glanced at the door.

"He's late."

Levy piped up from where she was situated between Wendy and Laxus. "I assume you mean Gajeel?"

"Yes, he's the reason we are even meeting again so soon—"

Not a moment later Gajeel crashed open the door looking decidedly rumpled and very _very_ wet. "Who the fuck pissed off the Rain Woman?"

We all point to Gray who ducked his head and swore his vengeance under his breath.

"Whatever, fucking apologize already, it feels like monsoon season out there."

Master cleared his throat before that debate could get underway. "Alright, Gajeel, what have you learned while being undercover?"

Gajeel sobered immediately. "We have a huge problem on our hands. Someone's been recruiting mages from all the major dark guilds. As far as I could tell it started at least three months ago. There was also some chatter about a breakout from the council jail beneath ERA." He looked pointedly at the Master. "It was cell block B, old man."

Laxus and Makarov looked like they had been punched in the face. "Are you positive Gajeel?" Makarov wheezed out.

"My information is good. The recruitments started almost immediately after. It wasn't hard to put two and two together."

Laxus growled and started to spark sporadically. "He's out?"

"Yeah. You're old man's out there again."

Master slammed a massive hand down on his desk. "Damn you, Ivan!"


	4. Four

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **HEllo my precious cupcakes, I hope everyone is either enjoying their holiday break, almost on it, or doing well in their exams. Love you all to pieces, enjoy the next chapter! :3**

* * *

FOUR

* * *

"You have the lacrima?"

"Yes Master, I have it. No one suspected anything, I used the staves and cloak just as you instructed."

"Hand it over now, I want to start the first sequence before the end of the night."

The stolen magic swirled thickly inside the small orb. It's colour deep and rich as freshly spilled blood.

Hesitation.

Then—

"Why the hell is it red? It should be gold."

That was the tipping point between outrage and civility. One could only hope that his answer will save him from a certain painful end. He had no illusions about his Master. The man was sick and twisted in a way that could only come from being rotten to the very core.

"That's the colour of the magic that I removed from the boy."

"Did you just say… _boy_?" Malice turned to incredulity, to disbelief.

"Yes, boy, the one with pink hair. As you requested."

"Imbecile! It was supposed to come from a woman, not a man."

"But…I followed what you said, Master…I removed the ancient magic and placed it in the lacr-"

His answer was cut off prematurely as a silver sword pierced between his ribs and drove straight into his heart.

It turned out that his answer just wasn't good enough to keep him living.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Ivan? As in the ex-master of Raventail that tried to kill Laxus and effectively ruined my first match in the GMG by cheating? That Ivan?"

Lucy grumbled a bit as she remembered her loss to Flare all too well. She would do what she did every single time no doubt, of course, Asuka was far more precious to her than any _win_ could ever be. But it still smarted, the absolute humiliation that she felt still irritated her every once and a while.

Makarov gives off a strangled groan. "Yes, my son Ivan."

Natsu hooked his chin over her shoulder and brought her back to the present where she was seated in her forced amnesiac best friend's lap.

"Who's Ivan?" His whisper wasn't all that loud, but his breath was warm and intimate against her ear. She shivered again, but it wasn't really from being drenched this time around. Natsu let his body temperature rise to stave off her sudden chills, and she all but melted into his front while she pouted.

"Just a giant asshole. That's who." Natsu hadn't read anything from the GMG yet, going in order from the beginning of their adventures to the present. It would be a while before he would read that name. "You'll learn it a little later when you read about the Grand Magic Games."

He nodded slowly, pointed chin digging subtly into her shoulder. Lucy flicked his nose and Natsu whined petulantly but backed off enough that she had room to think. Her brain felt a bit muddy with his proximity.

She knew she could just get _off his lap dammit_ , but he was comfy and warm and she was still damp. What was the harm in a little skinship between best friends?

"Uhm… that's not all of it." Gajeel flicked a shifty look her way before continuing. "There's more bad news."

Master Makarov waved his hands at Gajeel so he would finish his thought, while Levy pulled on his sleeve to grab the Iron Slayer's attention. "What bad news?"

"Cellblock B was deemed maximum security. So only the worst of Fiore's scum was held there."

Levy's eyes lit up with recognition. "Who else was released?"

Gajeel eyed the Master warily. "It wasn't just one person. It was a group, and no one I've talked to know exactly how many got out."

"Well, give it to us straight my boy. Who do you know for certain?" Makarov's pipe was completely forgotten in the wake of the news, it's bowl still smoking enough to let curls of vapour wisp into the air.

"Bluenote Stinger, the Seis, Erigor, and _Bora_. That's all I know for certain."

Natsu snarled softly next to Lucy's ear at the sound of Bora's name. She had an idea of who Natsu wanted to go after immediately. While she was all for second chances, selling _people_ was just too horrible to forgive completely.

She felt him open his mouth to say something about the situation but another voice drowned him out and made Lucy flinch back in surprise.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Again!?" Erza's little outburst made many mages jump as her booming voice practically vibrated the room.

The Master frowned a bit and looked towards his steepled fingers, possibly contemplating his life or his choices up to that moment. "Gajeel, what about Brain?"

"Unknown. I have no idea if he got out as well."

The room lit up with exclamations of annoyance, chief of all Gray, who was more than pissed that the Seis were out again. "—we literally just put them away! Again! Just last month! How did they get out so quickly?"

Makarov threw up his hands in the universal sign for _fuck if I know_. "We need more information, the council, or possibly the Rune Knights will know. It will probably up to us to put them back into jail, _again_."

Gajeel cocked his head to the side, red eyes narrowed down to the little bluenette that had caught his attention – against his will, obviously – and grumbled. "The weirdest thing about this break out is that the Seis didn't go with Ivan, or with Stinger, and Bora disappeared almost immediately, they all left separately and went on their own way."

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm not, but I tracked down Stinger and watched as he got his ass piss drunk in a small town just south of Mount Hakobe, and heard rumours of the Seis up North. But I didn't hear a word about Ivan, or anything about a resurrection of Raventail. I _think_ that Bora's back in Hargeon, but again…rumours only. I thought that the biggest threat was Bluenote, and that moron was the easiest to track. It was like he didn't give a shit about who saw him."

Another sigh of resignation. "Thank you Gajeel."

"Tch. Whatever old man."

Laxus gripped the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "So, you're saying that we no longer have just one problem, but two…or even more? I guess three if you count Stinger, but he's not really a big issue right now with Hades dead. Even more, if you factor in the idiot Bora and Erigor."

Lucy deemed this whole situation too complicated for their own good. And stupid. Couldn't forget how stupid it all was. "It seems that way Sparky." She murmured with a grimace.

The large blonde shot the small one a wry grin. Ever since the GMG, they had bonded nicely over their shared hair colour and love of soft coats. He was her honorary big brother really, while Bickslow was more like a crazy weird family friend that no one knew how to deal with properly. "Shut up Blondie."

Their diminutive Master shuffled papers about his desk and huffed at the silent communication device situated by his elbow. "We really need to talk to Jellal, he might know information that even Gajeel couldn't get at this point. I wish that man would pick up his goddamn lacrima!"

While Gajeel squawked at the slight to his sneaking and spying skills, as Wendy, sweet beautiful Wendy spoke up quietly where stood by Evergreen's side. "Why not use his calling card? I thought Cana made one for him during the GMG?"

They were all stunned into silence. Lucy watched incredulously as Levy's favourite pair of glasses slipped down her nose and fell quietly onto the open book in her lap.

How could they have been _so stupid_?

"Damn, that's brilliant squirt, why didn't anyone think about that?" Laxus looked impressed with the tiny Slayer and patted her head awkwardly. Wendy just preened at the praise from her elder, even if it was a little stunted.

He _was_ getting better at the whole human interaction thing.

"Who are the Oracion Seis?" Poor Natsu, he looked completely bewildered. Nothing about this conversation would make any sense to him yet. Not having read anything on Nirvana, the Seis were still an unknown entity and therefore annoying mysterious.

Lucy twisted in his lap so that she could see his face. "Short version. Our team – including you – met up three other guilds a while back to put a stop to the Oracion Seis. This is where we met Wendy and Charles who joined our guild after theirs was disbanded. After fighting for a while and meeting up with Jellal who had amnesia, we effectively stopped their plan to use the weapon of mass destruction, Nirvana, to wipe out the other light guilds in Earthland. You and Happy wiped the floor with another Dragon Slayer named Cobra and took out their leader Brain, who had then turned into Zero. They were thrown in jail, along with Jellal. After our seven-year sleep, the Oracion Seis tricked Fairy Tail into collecting the pieces of a gigantic clock which transformed into a…uhm…fish thing…and sacrificed many celestial wizards to bring about the real nightmare spell. The spell was supposed to remove time and create the ultimate chaos. They came after me to do it, because of my magic, but the Oracion Seis were sent to prison. Again."

Natsu chuckled dryly and gripped Lucy's waist a little tighter at the mention of the sacrifice. "Short version eh? You know that story sounds completely crazy, right?" Looking back on it, Lucy could see his point. Nothing about any of the situations they get into here followed any kind of known logic, much to Levy and Freed's chagrin. Everything that happened at Fairy Tail was _absolutely_ _crazy_ and deemed so far out of Lucy's comfort zone she wouldn't be able to touch it with a ten-foot pole.

"Just another day at Fairy Tail." Lucy shrugged, her voice deadpan.

It was the truth.

"How did everyone fucking survive after all these years?"

Which was also a strange statement to make. By all accounts, most of the people in that room should have been dead or incapacitated several times over. Including her.

Especially her.

"Sheer dumb luck…and a little skill."

Natsu breathed out slowly and nodded, curiosity sated for now.

"While this is all very _touching_ , I think this concludes our little meeting for today. Wendy, please find Cana and bring her to my office so we can get a hold of Jellal. Thunder Legion and Laxus, search for hints on where Ivan or the Seis have gone. Levy and Freed converse with Crux please and sort out your data. Erza and Gray, you just finished a job for the council so they might be willing to tell you more about the breakout. You will leave for Era as soon as possible. Lucy and Natsu, continue training with Romeo and spar—.

"I want Bora." Natsu's interruption caused Makarov to purse his lips in thought. He looked a little pained, but like he was also seriously considering it.

"How do you even know that name Natsu? Did some of your memories come back." Levy, the ever-inquiring one.

Lucy shook her head and pointed to the book in Natsu's left hand. "I gave him my journals to read. I wrote down _everything_ about or adventures since he brought me from Hargeon."

Levy squawked. "You let him read it? I didn't even know you wrote other than your letters and the novel. Can I read them next?"

She chuckled at her little bluenette friend. "The next time you get amnesia, I'll definitely let you read them."

Levy pouted but relented. For now. Lucy knew that there wasn't a book out there that Levy didn't want to read, least of all something that she wrote.

Her eyes shifted to Gajeel who was already looking at her with displeased eyes. She looked past him to Laxus, who looked a bit constipated honestly, but Lucy knew that it was just his frustrated face. Two guesses as to why they looked like that.

Bonus points if you guessed they were uneasy at the fact that their… _discretions_ towards Fairy Tail and her in were immortalized in black ink on parchment. Which currently sat in the hands of the most volatile Dragon Slayer known to Earthland. Maybe it was good that Natsu couldn't breathe fire anymore.

Their Master regarded Natsu with critical eyes. "Why do you want to go get Bora, my boy?"

"The last time we caught him, he was using _my name_ to capture women to sell them. I don't care about my name, but if he's up to his old tricks again, people are in danger." Lucy was happy to say she was very proud of Natsu for that explanation, even though she knew that he did care about his name and how Bora dragged it through the mud their first go around.

"Fine. Lucy, your thoughts?"

"I agree with him, Master. We know how he fights better than anyone here. And the fact that he's in Hargeon _again_ …"

"Very well...you can begin tomorrow with a refreshed mind and body after a good night's sleep."

Lucy smiled and nodded her head as Natsu shifted behind her.

"Alright, Gajeel, back to the dark guilds, we need more information on just what Ivan wants with the magic he stole, and if you get a lead on Erigor, take it. If you remember, his guild only took assassination requests and he may have regained the memories that he sacrificed."

Gajeel grunted and leaned against Levy, using her head as an armrest. She swatted at him, cheeks glowing pink.

"That's it brats, meet here again in four days, same time." Everyone groaned.

"Master, might I ask if we could relocate to somewhere slightly larger than this room? I'm almost straddling Evergreen." Lucy glanced around at everyone from her place still seated with Natsu. While she felt fine where she was, comfortable and safe even. Everyone else looked a touch…smushed. Erza was indeed practically in Evergreen's lap.

Erza scowled at the chuckles but looked at the Master beseechingly.

He nodded. "Fine, let's meet in the library instead then. And Freed could you set up a barrier when we get there so we can minimize the damage of any more…flooding incidents and eavesdroppers." At this remark, everyone shot small smiles at Gray who only sighed loudly. Lucy could feel the heaviness of the previous conversation lift, at least for the time being.

Natsu pushed her out of her seated position and swiftly took her hand in his. Lucy stumbled a little at his rush to get out the door and back to the beer hall. "Where's the fire Natsu?"

He scowled at the hallway like the stones had personally offended him. "I need to read more of your journals, I hate the feeling of not being able to remember everything, or anything really. But I _hate_ it more when someone talks about something that I know I should remember but don't."

"Isn't it the same thing?"

"Sort of? I don't know. It makes me feel small. Like I'm no help to anyone like this."

This time Natsu stumbled and tensed only barely catching himself as a flash of pain and the lingering feeling of _helplessness_ washed through his heart. His stomach sunk into the ground as the ghost of an image of Lucy breezed through his empty head.

He was pinned to the ground under something, entirely trapped, but his rage felt no bounds.

He couldn't move.

 _It's always better when we're together_ …

She was in crushing pain, her head squeezed in a vice-like grip of a massive sadistically smirking man behind her and he couldn't fucking _move—_

Lucy was dying and he was helpless. He couldn't prevent it.

"Natsu! Snap out of it!"

He was brought back by Lucy shaking his shoulders and he realized that he was shuddering quietly. "What did you see this time?"

"You were…your head was being—being _crushed_ …" He couldn't finish around the lump in his throat.

Lucy only looked slightly annoyed. "Oh. Kain Hikaru. That was on Tenrou Island when Grimoire Heart decided to crash our S-class mission before most of us were sent into a seven-year sleep."

Natsu redoubled his pace. "I seriously need to read those books."

Lucy decided she didn't really mind being dragged around for a change and she would never complain about sharing a calm evening with Natsu while he read and she wrote, although…she did miss the fly by the seat of her pants adventures, but a little downtime was in order. They could do something crazy tomorrow when they left to find Bora.

After all, it didn't matter what they did, it was always better when they were together.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Erik, where are we going? Do you even have a plan?"

"Shut it _Sorano_ , you know you're not supposed to call me that anymore. That life is behind us. And yes, you angel-loving twat, I have a plan. Get the hell out of here, and get as far away from the magic council as we possibly can. I'm thinking Bosco."

A new voice stopped all five mages in their tracks.

"You know Cobra, you can't run forever, the freedom you desperately desire can be achieved. But you must first seek retribution for your crimes."

They all know that voice. They hear it in their nightmares sometimes, from when they were but frightened children in the tower.

As if they possessed a single head, they all turned towards the man that was awakening their long-suppressed fears.

The man with a single eye glared at the two new mages. And he spoke with murder in his voice, dripping out of his mouth like poison.

"Fancy meeting you here, Jellal."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"This is very… _strange_."

Natsu looked up at Lucy from where he was engrossed in her fourth journal, his head pillowed in her lap in an unconscious action that he didn't know where it came from, but whatever. They had boarded the first train that morning from Magnolia to Hargeon, leaving in the hours between _too damn early_ and _fuck I'm still tired_. "What's strange?"

The train rocked, the motion soothing him into a half-awake-half-dream state and Natsu thought distantly that he could probably fall asleep like this.

"You hate trains."

He frowned and lowered the book, blinked uncomprehendingly up at her as she smirked. "Why?"

"Motion sickness. You have terrible, ridiculous motion sickness that completely immobilizes you every time you ride on something that moves. But it's not just you, all the Slayers have it, even Wendy now that she's a little older. Usually, you would get her to relieve it with a spell, but it doesn't work that well anymore."

He turned back to his book with a little laugh. "I guess I better enjoy this while I can."

Lucy didn't know if he meant the train ride, or the peacefulness, or the fact that they were so close and comfortable together even after his memories disappeared.

Truthfully, neither did he.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Natsu stood on a pier in Hargeon and tried with all his brain power to just try and _remember_ _something goddammit_. But he also knew that try as he might, he had no control over what he remembered and what he didn't.

He turned as he felt a tug on his hand. "Natsu, let's get rid of our stuff at the inn and start looking for _the Salamander_."

"Luce! Bora. His name is _Bora_. Not…oh you're teasing me. _Rude_." He followed behind her with a wry smile on his face as she snickered into her hand.

"Come on you big baby."

"So rude."


	5. Five

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **Hello my lovely precious cupcakes, Thank you for all the follows, it totally warms my poor poor heart in this cold weather. :3 Enjoy.**

* * *

FIVE

* * *

"What the hell is this place?"

"Uhm…well, it's a…sorta… _place_ …" Lucy sighed gustily as she eyed the three-story brownstone manor across the street. She could barely see through one of the windows from her vantage point, but it was enough to watch a young scantily clad woman wearing nothing but garters and a feather boa lead a completely bewitched middle-aged man around by the hand.

Lucy glanced down at the sign swinging in the soft breeze with a twisted expression, reading the name again to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

Nope. Still there.

 _Madame Cleo's House of Rapture._

"Well Natsu, it's a brothel."

Her best friend crinkled his nose – cutely, so damn _cutely it should be illegal_ – and cocked his head to the side. This boy could slay her with his innocent gestures. "Brothel?"

"It's a place where people go and pay for…pleasures of the intimate kind."

"So…sex."

Lucy choked on a laugh. Trust he partner to never give up his bluntness. "Yes, Natsu. Sex."

They had tracked Bora through Hargeon. First to a bar on the west end of the town, then through a seedier part where they had stumbled through a gambling den accidentally, meeting a very large and annoyed gentleman who Bora had swindled out of thousands of jewels, who had pointed them in the right direction towards Madame Cleo's. The man – named Ryan – had offered them a cut of the stolen money if they could find Bora and his cash.

They had said yes…and Ryan had looked so overjoyed that he had stuffed them both full of a deliciously hot meal and gave explicit directions to the manor house they were currently camped across the street from.

Natsu shrugged and grimaced. "That does explain the nakedness."

"That it does." Lucy plopped down on the stone bench they were making use of, (having seen no other place but a quaint little park to plan near the manor and keep a subtle eye on it) and huffed slightly into her cold hands. Even though Magnolia was still warm this time of year, Hargeon was known for its strange cold snaps that came with the changing ocean currents. "We can assume from what Ryan told us, that Bora is in _there_ ," Lucy pointed across the street "and has been for about an hour."

"We should wait for him to come out."

Lucy was stunned for a moment, so used to a crazy leap-first-into-danger-yelling- _fuck_ - _it_ Natsu that a plan to patiently wait something out had her gaping like a smacked Wingfish. "Why wait?"

Natsu hummed and tapped the book on his lap. He had almost finished reading her fourth journal and it had sent him into a bit of a rage earlier when he had found out about what Gajeel and then _Laxus_ had done to her and their family. But under all that bluster, he was the same Natsu, and no matter what happened to his memories and his magic, his _heart_ was still in there, whole and intact. She had explained the two men's reasons for their attacks and Natsu had only huffed and rolled his eyes. "You wrote that he has fire magic, like me, sorta? I don't know. But I do know that I can't eat the fire he makes anymore, I can't control it. And there are other people around, _innocent people_."

Lucy smiled, impressed over what she heard from Natsu. His great big heart. She loved that about him, his big stupid Dragon heart. "We'll wait, okay?" She rubbed her hands together again to relieve the chill that she could feel right down to her bones.

Two large warm hands enveloped her own and sighed as she melted. "Cold, Luce?"

Her eyes fluttered up to meet his own smiling ones. "Yeah." Her voice was breathier than she wanted it to be.

He rubbed her hands between his own, eyes half-lidded. "Better?"

"Yeah." It was like she was stuck in a loop and her brain was only able to spit out the same word over and over again.

A loud bang and a shriek of "GET OUT YOU FUCKER!" broke them out of their little spell. She peered around the tree that slightly blocked her sight only to blanch and gawk.

They watched as a very stout, obviously incredibly strong woman – they would later learn that this was Madame Cleo in the flesh – as she bodily threw a man, _oops there goes Bora_ , into the pond filled with Koi fish on the manor's front lawn.

Natsu cocked his head to the side again and narrowed his eyes at the spluttering man. "That's him, right?"

Lucy giggled into her hand. "You betcha."

"Well, that was easy."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"You look vaguely familiar…"

"And you're a fucking mess, Bora."

"Just a simple misunderstanding." Bora waved away the statement and squinted hard at Natsu's face, then at his scarf.

He tried to snap his fingers in triumph but just flopped uselessly to the side as he overbalanced. Lucy made a mental note to get that new riding crop Virgo had been going on about for the lovable but Masochistic spirit. She had been so helpful binding Bora with magic restraining cuffs after Natsu had used his still considerable strength – thank the Gods for all that solid _muscle_ – to haul the sopping wet mage of the pond.

Bora had tried to put up a little bit of struggle but gave up when he realized that Natsu had him in a solid grip and Lucy was shooting a glare at him that had him trembling.

"I got it! I'd recognize that pink hair anywhere!"

Natsu puffed his chest up a little with a hint of pride that he was recognizable even if he couldn't exactly remember why. He grinned sharply at Bora but decided not to respond to Bora and let Lucy take point. He had a feeling Lucy was the brains of this operation, and he didn't mind watching her go to work.

"The Salamander! In the flesh!" Bora's eyes flickered over to Lucy when she snapped her fingers in front of his nose in impatience.

His face shifted into something a little more heated and whole lot smarmier. "Hello beautiful, I don't think we've been introduced before. Names Bora the Prominence."

Lucy stared incredulously at the man before her who was kneeling on the ground who honestly looked like a drowned rat, cuffed and held down by her best friend. _Was he flirting?_

Her eyes flickered up to Natsu who had a dark scowl on his face.

Lucy's nose wrinkled in disdain. "Shut up Bora. I was kidnapped by you once and was there for your downfall." Lucy's eyes lit up with something fiery and she brandished a single golden key in front of his face. "I think you must remember Aquarius."

Bora's expression fell into a sneer. "You're the one that threw off my charms! No one had ever done that before." The second part was more to himself than anything, but Lucy shot a look up at her partner who only shrugged.

"Whatever. What do you two want now? I haven't sold a single person this time."

"You're a fugitive Bora! We're taking you back into custody and handing you off to the Rune Knights. Plus, you stole money from a man who asked us to get it back."

Bora whined then kicked his legs out and tried to barrel roll away from them, although he got stuck after a single rotation. "I don't want to go back! I hate being in solitary, I had no fans and there were absolutely no women there. Just those ridiculous frogs."

Natsu huffed and hauled Bora up by his soaking jacket so he was level with Lucy again while he searched his pockets. "We're taking you in Bora, but we want to ask about the break out beforehand." Natsu held up an almost full coin purse and jingled it.

Ah.

David's money. Looks like they would get that commission this time. And the whole amount too.

Bora shot them both a look then shrugged as much as the bindings and Natsu's grip would allow. "Nothing much to say. One minute I was in the yard doing my daily Pilates routine, _don't laugh it's good for core strength_ , and the next there was a massive boom. After the smoke and debris cleared, there was a massive hole in the wall. What was I supposed to do? _Not go through it_? I'm not fucking stupid."

Lucy sighed and shook her head. "What about Ivan, can you tell me anything about him?"

Immediately Bora sobered and looked around warily. "No fucking way. He's a crazy bastard and fucking cruel. I thought Cobra was one of the worst but that guy…nope. I don't wanna get mixed up in that shit. Are you saying he's out too?"

Natsu grunted. "Yeah. Same breakout."

"Well shit. Fucking take me back to prison then! It's probably safer there."

Blonde hair whipped around as Lucy started to march out of Madame Cleo's front yard, Natsu with Bora slung over his shoulder followed behind her. "You're a damn coward Bora."

"At least I won't be a dead coward."

Lucy couldn't exactly fault his logic.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"So, what, we just follow you around all the time and wear these cloaks like a merry band of idiots?"

"Don't be such an asshat Cobra, we all lost to him, let's just get on with this, alright? Personally, I'm done with running, I just want to sleep peacefully."

Tan hands raked through maroon hair. "Fine, whatever, have it your way Midnight. And what the fuck is that noise! It's been beeping for the last five minutes and I know it's not any of us, so it must be you two fuck nuggets."

The woman with pink hair sighed. "Thanks for that Cobra." She turns to the man next to her. "Jellal, it's the calling card. You know they would only do this if there was an emergency."

"How far away from them are we?"

"Three days if we walk through the Worth Woodsea." His red tattoo flashed as he nodded.

One eye widened in shock as he heard a whisper of the man's soul. "Wait, you want us to go there? What makes you think they would even let us into that town, must less the guild hall?"

"Because you are a part of Crime Sorciere now, all of you. If you are with Jellal and me, then they know you can be trusted…to an extent. Please don't try to kill them all again, that would be pushing the envelope a bit."

"Relax Meredy, it's been like what, nineteen days without him trying to kill anyone. He's on a hot streak right now. Oh Yeah!" Snickers were heard throughout the group.

"That's enough Hoteye. Let's move out, there must be something big happening if they called us this way."

"Sure, or you just want to get Titania naked and sweaty. Don't try to deny it, I can hear it in the deepest parts of your soul. Although I didn't need to know that you love it when she spanks you." His grin turned feral, canines flashed in the dim light. "Well? Let's get a move on oh fearless leader. If we're going to Fairy Tail, we might as well get this shit over with sooner than later."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Levy looked through a curtain of green hair. "Freed, did you finish translating that part yet? I'm almost done with the second stanza in the incantation, which means that we almost have the completed spell."

"I'm almost finished, Ms. Levy. I must say that it is moving much faster with the help of Crux. We must formally thank him at the next available time."

"I agree."

They worked in silence for a while longer.

Freed concentrated on a couple of trickier runes. "You know, we can't do anything regardless of what we figure out now. No matter what we need that lacrima at least within fifty meters of Natsu to complete the spell correctly."

Levy sighed heavily and let the dusty book in her hands slump down onto the overrun table. "I know Freed. It's just…we must get this done just in case the lacrima suddenly shows up. I owe it to both Lulu and Natsu to do my best, she's my best friend and I grew up with him here." Levy dropped her voice. "They are so important to so many people here. I never noticed how quiet this place it without Natsu's rambunctious pranks and brawling, it's like all the energy was sucked out. And Lucy doesn't smile as wide now, you can tell she's worried more than she's letting on."

Freed glanced over at her, setting the quill he was using down carefully. "You are quite observant Ms. Levy." His uncovered eye observed their subdued guild. "We all owe a lot to those two. I know Laxus is putting in an unprecedented amount of effort because he can tell that Ms. Lucy is distressed."

"Those two are awfully close, aren't they?"

Freed gave Levy a small smile. "I believe Laxus once referred to their bond as _kin_ or something of the sort. I haven't had time to research it to the full extent yet." He turned back to the task at hand while Levy did the same.

"We'll figure this out, Ms. Levy. After all, we are the brightest minds here at Fairy Tail."

Levy let out a peal of surprised laughter. "You bet your ass we are the brightest minds Freed."

If she looked closer, she could just see the hint of a smirk cross his lips before she was engrossed once again in complicated translations.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"This is mind-numbing work Boss. We aren't going to find anything and you know it. Your Pops was always good at disappearing and the only one that could find him at any point in time was Gajeel."

"Yah I know Bix, let's just do one more town and then find a bar somewhere. I need a drink, or five."

Evergreens fanned snapped out as she fanned herself haughtily. "Men, I don't know why I put up with your half of the species at all. The testosterone displays are enough to drive any woman to lesbianism, or celibacy. And just listening to you Neanderthals is seriously having me close to throwing in the proverbial towel when it comes to your gender. Tch, useless, all of you."

"Ugh, Ever, give it a rest. You know you love men. You have the manliest man there ever was wrapped around your little finger. I bet he calls everyone a 'real man' just to get you to hit him with your fan, probably turns him on. Such a masochist."

"Shut up Laxus, you're no better pining over Freed. What, did you think we wouldn't notice the long glances and 'accidental touches' you two have shared over the past few month, hmm?"

Laxus scowled at the dirt and pouted. "Shut up."

"That didn't sound like a denial Boss."

"Hurry the fuck up! I want to black out tonight and forget this idiotic conversation." Sometimes Laxus really hated his team.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"I can't believe that idiot got it so ass-backward! He actually _stole_ the wrong magic? Gods, no wonder the Master was raging like a bull in a china shop this morning."

"Dammit, can't you fucking keep your trap shut, or at least talk a little quieter? Gods, you're no better than him and he has a fucking sword sticking out of his chest. He would probably be better company right now; your voice is grating on my nerves."

Gajeel grunted from his quiet corner in the sixth tavern he had visited. Just his luck, those dark guild lackeys were always so chatty after a good ale or two. He poked Lily in the stomach, who woke up from his doze with a snort and a grumble.

"Come on Lily. It's finally gettin' good." And it was, amazingly so.

Gajeel flicked his eyes to where the two men were sitting and heard every word of their "private" conversation perfectly even without the use of his exceptional hearing.

"What does Master need with such ancient magic anyways? I know there aren't many celestial wizards left in the world, but why that particular magic?"

"Dunno, something to do with time, or time travel, or something like that. I didn't really care either way."

Lily sucked in a breath as Gajeel growled. "Did you hear that? It seems like Lucy is in trouble yet again."

"Yah I heard, let's wait it out and kick their scrawny asses outside later just to make sure that all the information we heard was true." Gajeel downed the last of his bourbon and slammed the glass down on the wooden table.

 _Why the hell was it always Bunny girl?_

Gajeel felt a fierce loyalty to that blonde headed little spitfire who had stood her ground and spat in his face, who had taken his beatings and gotten up again, had enough magic energy to summon a golden key and find a way to get a power up the Salamander in time.

And the fact that she was his Shrimp's best friend? No brainer. She was kin faster than you could say shoobedoba.

Lily gave him a skeptical look. "You know they have no reason to lie to each other. You just want to punch something don't you?"

"Gihi, you got me all figured out, don't cha?"


	6. Six

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **Welcome everyone, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas or a good holiday weekend. :3**

* * *

SIX

* * *

Natsu handed off a very subdued Bora to the local Rune Knights of Hargeon while Lucy quickly ran off to give Ryan back his missing money – minus whatever Bora had already spent at the brothel and the tavern. The large man was so happy that he gave them a bonus on top of what he promised them which made Lucy sigh in relief.

A successful mission with no collateral damage to the surrounding buildings. It was probably the easiest money she had ever made in the entire time she had been a mage. Usually, they had to trek up a mountain or go deep into a forest or battle a wyvern or something that inevitably made her bleed.

 _Lucky Lucy indeed_.

They splurged a little on dinner, opting for a more formal restaurant than they usually would with their full team – Wendy was still underage so family restaurants were cheaper and had a wider selection for their friendly neighbourhood Slayers (doubly so when Gajeel and Levy tagged along) – the atmosphere was easy and light between them even with the loss of Natsu's more important memories.

Lucy was content and extremely happy, and by the Gods so incredibly full. She huffed a small laugh and groaned in exaggeration at her full stomach.

Perhaps dessert had been a bit much, but she had a sweet tooth and that double chocolate cheesecake had been calling her name like a siren's song. Although she had to keep slapping Natsu's fork away from pilfering her dessert.

Rotten stealer.

They made it back to the hotel room sleepy and warm and pliant. Natsu passed out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, muffled snores echoing around the room. Lucy followed him in a tired haze, after splashing a little water on her face and changing into something more comfortable. A heavy arm wound around her waist and Natsu did his best impression of a clingy octopus. This, _this_ _was familiar and everything she had grown to hold dear_. She did miss the little furry ball of fluff that Happy curled up into in the crook of her elbow, but he had opted to stay behind and go on a day trip with Wendy to gather herbs for Porlyusica.

She drifted off easily with the warmth of her friend by her side and the knowledge that she would be able to pay rent again this month in the back of her mind.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Laxus collected the reward from the Rune Knights in the small town of Holly just South of Hakobe Mountain. He and his team had recovered a thoroughly debauched – and reeking – Bluenote Stinger from where he had been bar hopping since Gajeel had seen him at least two days prior.

"I don't think I'll be able to wash the stench of that disgusting man off me anytime soon."

The Thunder God grunted and scowled. "Normally I wouldn't think about it but I agree Ever. I can't believe that man was so easy to subdue. But he was so wasted I don't think he even knew who we were."

Bickslow just pouted from where he stood a little way away from the other two. "I need a fucking shower. I can't believe he puked on _me_."

Evergreen wrinkled her nose and fanned herself. "Karma."

Laxus couldn't believe that he had to break up another argument between them. It was like trying to herd Exceeds with his team sometimes.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

An explosion ripped Lucy out of her dreamless sleep.

She was disoriented and frankly annoyed to all hell that something had disturbed her peaceful slumber.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" She knew that voice. Natsu was yelling with undisguised rage somewhere close by her head. Spurts of fire and fists flew, but it wasn't enough to see by.

Glass shattered and she heard heavy breathing and something heavy collided with wood. "NATSU?!" Lucy started to panic, and because of her emotions, a bright light lit the room and suddenly Leo was there by her side.

Thank the Gods for Loke. Although she would never tell him that, his ego was already too large as it was.

"What the hell? Lucy—"

She waved away his hands, finally able to see what was happening in front of her as Leo's fists lit up the formally pitch-black room. Natsu was furiously trying to keep an unknown mage pinned beneath him but without his boosted strength, he was having one hell of a time. She struggled to get out of the bed as the sheets had curled around her in sleep.

Lucy sucked in a breath when she saw Natsu take a solid right hook to the side of his face. "Help him! We need to get them outside, the only spell big enough now is—"

Loke dove into the fray for flying limbs and grunts, bodily picked up the intruder – who she now saw was dressed as Mystogan (but the eyes were wrong, she could see malice and hate in them and Mystogan was a Fairy Tail mage, and so was Jellal at heart) – and launched himself out of the closest window.

 _Thank the Gods_ they had chosen a room on the ground floor of the inn.

Lucy hurried over to Natsu for a moment and took in his split lip and bruised jaw. "You alright?"

He grinned, eyes lit up like he was having the time of his life. "Never better." Her best friend was truly born a fighter, and it had nothing to do with his Dragon. But she couldn't focus on that now, they had bigger things to worry about.

Lucy stood and heaved his weight off the floor, then followed Loke out into the night, following the light of her loyal lion's fists. Suddenly she was very glad that she didn't have to use any magic that afternoon to subdue Bora, she would need every scrap she had left.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Erza and Gray arrived at ERA a little later than what they would have liked. Train maintenance due to unforeseen circumstances on the tracks. Gray had to steer Erza away from stealing a magic mobile because she had little to no patience when things didn't exactly go according to plan. It was a wonder how they had all managed to survive their team all these years because _absolutely nothing went according to plan._

Ever.

Especially when you put Natsu in front of any type of enemy or left him and Gray alone for more than two solid minutes.

But they had arrived and were quickly ushered into the office of the men who were currently dealing with the breakout after Erza had ordered one of the frog people to _take me there or so help me God_.

Erza looked completely content blowing on her cup of chamomile tea, legs crossed daintily beneath her everyday skirt. If Gray didn't know any better – and by the Gods, he knew better – Erza would look like a perfectly respectable gentile woman as she smiled and slowly sipped the scalding beverage.

She wrinkled her nose when it was still too hot and held it out wordlessly to Gray, who knew the drill. He cooled it down with a slight (secret) roll of his eyes but did as she silently asked. Other than the armour, Erza did look completely comfortable and even at ease.

"Thank you, Gray." She murmured into the still air of the office.

Everyone else flinched as her words broke the tenuous silence.

The fact that she was so content to just _drink tea_ and smile pleasantly was putting them all on edge, ironically. It was if she was waiting for someone to crack. Gray internally sweated, halfway to spilling all his secrets to just stop her from looking so calm, it was unnaturally.

"What did you want to see us for?" Gray sighed gustily, quietly shooting a look heavenward to thank the Gods for someone breaking before he told Erza that he was the one that ate the last piece of cake last week and he _wasn't even sorry dammit._

Erza smiled demurely, letting her voice drip sickly sweet into the middle of the room, like poisoned honey. "We would like to know about your breakout three months ago. You know the one from cell block B?" Gray's lips twitched with the hint of a smirk at the Rune Knights stricken faces.

Both men quickly compose their features into the blank canvases they were known for.

Lahar shifted uneasily in his seat. "How did you know about that breakout? It was never publicized."

Erza slowly lowered and gently placed the teacup back on the saucer before her. Lahar flinched back as if the sound of tinkling china was a physical blow. Erza's restrained strength was almost more terrifying than if she had gone off on them and screamed obscenities. "The dark guilds are in a riot over it. It wasn't that hard to find the information if you know how to listen." Erza's quip came fast as if she had been waiting for the question. Her eyes flashed between the two shifty men who squirmed under her gaze. "What we would like to know is _how_ they escaped?"

Doranbolt coughed into his hand awkwardly. "Uhm…they? Only one broke out…"

Gray decided to jump in before they could lie to their faces anymore. If there was one thing he hated, it was someone who was deliberately untruthful to cover up a misdeed, and these two reeked of guilt. "We know about the Seis as well as Ivan, Doranbolt, don't try and bullshit your way through this. We also know about Bluenote Stinger and _Bora_ , so let's get all the crap out of the way and talk straight. We want to know how they escaped. Who helped them? They don't have many friends on the outside. Also, _how_ many escaped exactly."

Doranbolt bristled, an angry retort obviously crawling up his throat, ready to defend his honor as a Rune Knight. However, Lahar cut him off with a well-placed palm to his shoulder. "We…don't… _know_."

Gray crossed his arms over his surprisingly (but not really all that surprising) bare chest and rolled his eyes in derision. " _You don't know_? You're telling us that you don't know _how_ or _why_ or _how many_ of the most notorious prisoners in Earthland disappeared from your cells? Seriously?" He stared incredulously at them before flicking his eyes back to Erza who looked equally confused.

"Just how stupid are you people?"

Erza silenced him with a look and Gray shut his mouth with an audible click. It didn't stop him from fuming silently from his seat though.

"Now hold on a minute! We didn't _just let_ anyone go! They escaped!" Gray could hear the excuse from a mile away and even _he_ knew it was a weak one.

"You absolute idiots! This was months ago? Why didn't you let us know at least? Ivan tried to kill Laxus the last time he was out, and the Seis have come after us multiple times almost sacrificing one of my best friends to a gigantic fish for Mavis' sake! You were both there! Fairy Tail has _filled_ your cells with criminals and you didn't think to tell us that the people that we had helped jail in the first place were out in Earthland again?" Contrary to his magic, Gray had always been a hot-headed person – just look at how many times Natsu had goaded him into some ridiculous competition or brawl – but he believed he was justified this time to go off on the organization that was constantly belittling their achievements and trying to shut them down. Did they even know what they had done for this world? Did they even realize what they had had to do, what they had to go through to keep the dark guilds from destroying everything they held dear?

"ENOUGH! This is getting us nowhere!" The set of Erza's jaw stalled the next angry remark from escaping Gray's mouth. Perhaps he should have stayed silent?

"I agree with Gray; did you not _think_ it merited a lacrima call to Master Makarov about this? Did the council think that everyone would be better off not knowing?" She narrowed her eyes at the pale men and scoffed. "Fairy Tail mages are always the ones you turn to when you need someone to clean up your messes, then blame us for the aftermath. You called on all the guilds for help after the Princess, bless her soul, made a horrible judgment call and we fought Dragons for you. We destroyed another one of Zeref's instruments and sent the timeline straight again. With no thanks and the memories of _dying_. This time we won't allow it. We will figure out what is going on without you interfering. Then we will demand a formal apology from the council about all this. The fact that you have absolutely no information on how they escaped is incredible, you've had three months for God's sake. We've done more than you have in the span of six days! Idiots! The lot of you."

Gray's jaw hung slack, unnerved and very impressed that Erza…straight-edged-walk-the-line _Erza_ had called two Rune Knights from ERA _idiots_. But he agreed with her so it wasn't a big deal.

She re-quipped a sword and pointed it at them, straight into Lahar's pale face. "Doranbolt will use direct line to get us back to Fairy Tail as quickly as possible so that we can start to right your stupidity." She was absolutely seething, but Gray didn't mind it this time at all. It was nice to have her wrath directed elsewhere for a change.

Lahar sneered. "The council will not stand for this you know."

Gray whipped off his pants in frustration and Doranbolt squawked in surprise. "We don't care! You put us all in danger because of this! It took _Gildart's full strength_ to put down Stinger the first time. The Seis almost fucking sacrificed one of my best friends and Bora was a human trafficker. Not to mention the shit we had to deal with at the GMG because of Ivan and his dark guild that you _fuckers_ let into the arena. Get us home, we need to start the search. You should have never put a single person of my family in danger, if any of them get hurt, we will come for all of you."

"Thank you, Gray, for that succinct threat. I believe they understand what is at stake now. Please gather your clothes, we are leaving."

Erza sent her sword back to the pocket of space that held all her other weapons. "Doranbolt, get us out of here. NOW!"

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Luce? What are you gonna do?"

There was only one spell she could pull out of her arsenal at a time like this and both her and Loke knew that. It was the only one that could subdue the mage as his pool of magic was larger than her own, but the element of surprise should work. She was going to use a lost spell, after all, one that hadn't ever been seen even if she had _tried_ to use it once before in public. The GMG had been humiliating for her for more than one reason of course. The only people that had truly seen the effects of Urano Metria were Angel, herself, and Hibiki (Natsu had heard it, but being face down on a raft with motion sickness didn't really count).

Lucy sprinted through the dark street as Natsu trailed behind her until she found Loke and the Mystogan imposter – she knew without a doubt that this wasn't Jellal or Mystogan as the mage had finally shown his true colours and seemed to be manipulating water – squaring up in a park relatively close to their inn. Although, luckily, it wasn't near any other structures or buildings, thank the Gods. "Just stand back Natsu."

"What? Luce…what's going on?"

"Just trust me! I'm going to end this!" She yelled back, ready to get this over with. "LEO! GO BACK!"

Leo smirked back at her and bowed, before shooting a cocky salute at the water mage. "Nice knowing yah buddy."

Lucy slapped her palms together and breathed deeply, her eyes closed as she concentrated. She chanted, feeling the magic that lay dormant in both her first and second origins fluctuate wildly as if it wanted out of her.

 _…Open thy malevolent gate._

 _Oh, 88 Stars of the heaven…_

 _Shine…_

Natsu watched as Lucy's eyes snapped open, surprised beyond belief to see them a solid gold with magic circles wheeling in their depths.

A seam in the sky opened and out screamed hundreds of glowing orbs, each a different color and size. It was then that the water mage that had tried to attack Lucy in her sleep and possibly steal her magic away from her, decided that it was time to run.

But he was out of time.

The magical energy in the air exploded outward and for a second there was a suspicious silence that seemed to stretch on and on and on…

"URANO METRIA!"

And then the heavens fell around them.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Gajeel pulled back silently, the two drunk mages stumbled and giggled outside the bar they had been imbibing in for hours. This wouldn't be much of a challenge for the Iron Slayer, in fact, he might accidentally kill these two if he used any magic at all.

Lily watched from an adjacent rooftop as the two idiots stumbled down an alleyway on their way to another bar or perhaps back to their homes for the night. Although, he highly doubted that second one.

Without taking his eyes off his prey for the evening Gajeel crept around a corner and signaled to Lily to block off the other end of the alleyway. In a flurry of white wings, Lily was gone presumably to do as asked.

Perfect.

No one around but them and his prey was trapped like rabbits in a snare.

"Gihi, time to go hunting!" He shifted into the shadows that littered the silent alley. He revealed himself to the two dark mages all at once with much flourish and was delighted in their squeals of terror.

"Who the fuck are you?!" One of the men – who looks a little less drunk than his buddy – spotted Gajeel faster than his more inebriated counterpart.

He didn't answer their question and just crack his knuckles that were aching to slam into the soft parts of their bodies that left the largest bruises. "Where is Ivan?"

They start to nervously sweat (he could smell the sour stink in the air) at Gajeel's question and stumble over their answers and each other. "What? Wh-who's Ivan? Why do you want to know about him?!" Gajeel scowled darker and pulled himself to his full height. _These mages were dumber than Salamander._

He grinned maliciously and hoped that they would be having nightmares about him. "Tell me…where is Ivan? I know you know, so cut the bullshit so I don't have waste my time to pound you into the brick wall behind you."

Like the idiots they were, they clammed up from either terror or something else, but then the less drunk of the two found his voice and started to mouth off. It was one thing for his Shrimp to nag him about eating the Demon's cutlery again, but an entirely other situation when _this jackass_ decides to spew something he would regret at him. "Fuck off you sack of shit! We aren't going to tell you anything!"

Without a second thought, Gajeel's fist connected with the mouthy one's nose and the satisfying crunch of bones shattering broke the silence before he sailed into the wall on the opposite side of the alley.

He didn't get back up.

Gajeel directed his attention to the second man on the ground who looked _this close_ to pissing himself. "What about you? Gunna dick around or are you going to tell me what I want to know!?" He looked around for an exit and bolted toward the other end. Unfortunately, that was where Lily was standing guard in his battle form.

With a firm grip on his neck, Lily directs his head to look straight into Gajeel's blood red eyes.

"Fine! I don't know where Ivan is you fuck face! I was only tasked to find a fence! You happy now!?"

No.

Gajeel was not happy, only mildly perturbed.

"Why are you after Celestial Magic?"

"I don't know! I swear!" Gajeel could smell his fear and confusion. He must have been so low level in the organization that he wouldn't know the answer.

 _Typical._

He slammed his dominant hand into the now sobbing man's solar plexus, winding the bastard before a single punch to the face knocked him out. They would have nasty headaches to go with their hangovers by the time they wake up tomorrow.

"Lily, go contact the Rune Knights and tell them the story. I'll tie these guys up and wait." Lily nodded and flew off to the nearest headquarters. Gajeel growled and searched their pockets, finding only a pack of gum – unused – tissues, condoms – also unused, thank the Gods – and a single key to an in the packing district of Crocus.

He took the key, ready to search the room they had been staying in. If these two needed a fence, that meant that they had the item either on them or close to them. What better place than their room?

Gajeel had a feeling that he knew what they were selling, after all, who wouldn't want a lacrima filled with Dragon Slayer magic?

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

The doors rattled ominously behind the Thunder Legion as they strode through the uncharacteristically quiet guild hall.

"Gramps! Stinger is back with the Rune Knights."

"Well done my boy. Did you find anything else worrisome?"

Evergreen scoffed and snapped her fan open in annoyance. "Only a drunken idiot who vomited all over Bicks."

Laxus waved his hands at his team to _please be quiet for once in your life dammit_. "Nothing to do with Ivan." He cocked his head to the side, watching Freed and Levy skim book after book, making periodic notes in black ink. "Why is it so quiet here. Where is everyone?"

Makarov looked up from his beer stein with a worried look. "You're the first ones back."

"No one's here? Not even Blondie?" Bora was a pushover compared to how strong the little celestial mage had become over the years. He thought she would be done in less than a full day.

"Sorry, my boy and no one is picking up their lacrima coms." The Master closed his eyes again and took another sip from his mug. "Also, we have guests in the basement."

Laxus quirked an eyebrow. "Guests?"

His grandfather sighed, he looked older in that moment that he had in years. "In the ale cellar. Would you go greet them for me before Cana blows her lid? You know how she's like when someone messes with her alcohol."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Natsu? Wh—what happened?" Lucy blinked blearily up at her best friend from her place in his lap.

He lifted his hand up and ran it through her hair, the motion soothing her even more than the slowly rocking sway of the train they were on. "It's okay Luce. Don't worry, just sleep."

Natsu watched as she gazed at him with something so warm in her eyes that it made him feel so incredibly content here with her. "Okay, Natsu."

She drifted off again with a small sigh and a smile.

Lucy had been so amazing out there against that water mage, although her spell had completely decimated all the trees in the park. Natsu had watched awestruck as the sky ripped open and bombarded the bastard that had come after them like a coward in the night.

Overwhelming pride – of her strength and her drive to protect what she held dear – had ripped through him and his mind. Along with that, the now familiar feeling of pain lanced through his brain.

He was curled around Lucy's battered and bleeding form in the grime and dust of a stadium, thousands of people screaming around them. All he could feel were her wracking sobs against his rib cage, but he didn't feel worried or scared or anything unpleasant.

Just pride. So much pride.

He didn't recognize anything from the vision this time around, but he had a feeling he would read about it sooner or later, or perhaps he would ask Lucy later when she wasn't so tired.

When he had blinked the spots away from his bleary eyes, he realized that he was the only one left standing in the park.

No.

Wait.

Not the only one. There was another shadow moving swiftly moving towards the fallen water mage, or perhaps even Lucy.

He hadn't realized at the time that they had both keeled over unconscious at almost the same time. One from Lucy's massive attack, and the other from magical depletion. Natsu gritted his teeth and chose to scoop up Lucy in his arms and sprint back to the inn. He _hated_ that he couldn't do anything more for them, but he wasn't strong enough. Yes, he could fight, but there was a chance that the other mage would beat him, a very high chance.

He opted to protect his best friend over fighting. So, he ran, and he felt a little cowardly, but if it kept Lucy safe, that would be alright.

So, he checked out of the inn, paying off the damage of the window (making up a clever little story of an outsider who had thrown a brick through it in a drunken fit) and carried Lucy to the nearest train station, paid for two tickets and boarded without another problem.

The little orb that he had seen Lucy speak through had been blinking a red light for the past hour, but she had never shown him how to use it, so Natsu thought it would be better if he didn't touch it.

He'd probably break it. If nothing else, all the stories written by Lucy had an overwhelming theme of him breaking, blasting, or turning something – namely her clothes (although that didn't seem like such a bad thing, really) – into ashes on a weekly basis.

No, better to leave it alone.

They needed to get back to Magnolia and tell the Master of Fairy Tail what had happened. Hopefully, Lucy would have regained more of her strength by then. He wanted to know about that spell of hers.

But mostly, he wanted to tell her how damn proud she made him.


	7. Seven

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **To keep as much as I could cannon compliant – even though this is a divergent story between GMG and Tartaros – Erigor the Reaper did not escape with the Neo Oracion Seis this time around. After Wendy healed his mind with the help of Bickslow, in this story, Erigor gave himself up and was convicted guilty of the murders he committed while he was the Ace of Eisenwald. Essentially, he is in solitary without a chance of parole for the rest of his life. Imitation/Michelle is still compliant and so is Ultear in the battle of Dragons/GMG arc.**

 **Other than that, please enjoy the next chapter and have a happy and healthy New Year! :3**

 **Stay crazy my precious cupcakes.**

* * *

SEVEN

* * *

Laxus growled as soon as he got down the stairs to the cellar.

He knew that scent. He's smelt it before, during the battle with Future Rogue. Caustic and sweet.

Poison.

"—Cobra!? What the fucking hell—" He was so agitated that he had started to spark erratically. How had one of the Seis managed to sneak down here without anyone noticing other than his Gramps?

The small amount of magic he was giving off unconsciously was just enough light for him to see that there wasn't just one but seven mystery mages in their basement.

 _Goddamn, that old man._

Of course, these were the _guests_ that they had in their damn basement.

Jellal lowered his hood quietly. "I apologize for this intrusion, but we were summoned by Master Makarov. I assumed it was urgent so we came as soon as we were able."

Laxus pointed at the Seis with a question in his eyes as Cobra's lip curled into a sneer. Jellal tilted his head in understanding. "They're with Crime Sorciere now. I will explain everything to the Master when we see him."

"Tch, Fine. We were supposed to meet an hour ago, but my team and I are the only ones back."

Cobra's eyes shot to his as he listened to Laxus' soul. "Is it only Slayers? Or does the spell work on other mages too?"

"That would be a question for Freed. I never thought to ask." Because if they were after only Slayers, then Peanut was in trouble as well. Wendy was as vicious as they came, but she was still a hatchling by Dragon standards. She was the only Queen they knew of too, so she had to be doubly careful.

Everyone looked a little lost in their stilted conversation, so Laxus shook off his apprehension and beckoned them forward until they were out of the cellar and directed to wait in their expansive library. "Stay here until the Master comes down."

Jellal nodded and they all sat quietly and conversed in hushed tones.

Laxus backtracked for a moment and stuck his head through the open doorway. "How the hell did you get down here?"

The largest man held up his hand, looking a tad bit sheepish. "I can manipulate the earth and it wasn't much for Cobra to melt the bedrock with his poison. Oh yeah!"

"You might or might _not_ have a large hole in one of your storerooms...possibly."

The Thunder God shook his head and left to have a strongly worded conversation with his grandfather about the meaning of the word _guests_ and about how the _entire guild hall_ should be covered in Freed's runes to prevent this exact thing from happening again.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Natsu kicked in the doors of the guild hall, brows pushed down in a thunderous scowl. Everyone stopped and stared, but he didn't give them a second glance as he sped over to Makarov with Lucy still secure in his arms, her head lolling limply to the side.

Makarov choked on his tea – which he was only drinking now because Mira had refused to give him more ale on the basis that he needed a clear head for the meeting later – and wheezed. "Natsu my boy, what—"

"We were ambushed last night. I thought she would _wake up_ by now but she hasn't. We need that small blue headed girl…" Natsu gritted out between clenched teeth. He hated this feeling of complete helplessness, and everything that he had learned – names, dates, important events – were bleeding from his worried mind like water through a sieve.

"Be calm Natsu, you're starting to smoke again. Wendy is downstairs with everyone else, in the library."

Without a backward glance, Natsu took off towards the basement, leaving behind the scent of fresh pine ash. Lucy needed help and she needed it now.

Makarov scowled and downed a shot of something much stronger than tea Lisanna handed him behind her sister's back, but almost choked on that too when Erza and Gray – along with a panting, irate Mest Gryder – materialized in the middle of his beer hall. Mest was off again without a second glance and the Master just motioned them downstairs and followed behind.

They were the last ones to arrive – barring Gajeel – but he couldn't wait any longer, especially with Lucy unconscious and a group of recently escaped fugitives in his basement.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Freed, the runes if you could." Master gestured at the open doorway, murmuring to the Rune Mage to make an exception for Gajeel. "And remember _eavesdroppers Freed_."

Meanwhile, Natsu had Lucy's prone form laid out on a long table for Wendy to do a quick examination and possible healing.

Wendy's glowing hands slowly made their way through the air over Lucy's abdomen as she scrunched her nose adorably in concentration.

"She's only magically exhausted Natsu, she used up more of her energy that she usually does, Lucy only needs rest and she'll be just fine." Natsu hovered over the working Wendy and gnawed on his lip in worry. "When did she fall unconscious?"

"Before the sun rose, but it was after midnight. I didn't really look at the clock." He fished the ticket stubs out of his pants pocket and mentally calculated how much time had actually passed. "Around four this morning, I think?"

Wendy clapped her hands together with a bright smile. "Then she'll probably come to any moment now. Her containers are almost filled again. It was just a shock to her system. Usually, magic is drained continuously, especially hers when she keeps multiple gates open, but if what you said is true and it was one spell…that just isn't usual for her."

Laxus sidled over then and nudged Natsu out of the way to peer at the girl who had become as close as any sibling would be to him. "What the hell happened?"

"I would like to know as well, Natsu. I assumed that the both of you could handle whatever was thrown at you but now I'm not so sure." Erza's imperious voice cut through the thick silence as they waited for Wendy's diagnosis.

Natsu's fists lit up with flames but his eyes only stared guiltily down at his best friend. "I tried…but without my Dragon…I just wasn't strong enough." The fire petered out sadly until only a hint of smoke was left in the air.

A murmured "So it's true…" from the back corner was the only thing heard and even then, only a few were privy to it.

"Erza, give the guy a break. She's not harmed and Wendy said she'll be fine." It was Gray who spoke up on his rival's behalf, which surprised no one. When the shit hit the fan, Natsu and Gray were the perfect team, even if their elements counteracted each other. They were only rivals out of boredom really.

Titania relented with a skeptical look at her icy partner, who only shrugged. He wasn't overly enthused that his sister was unconscious, but it wasn't like Natsu had actually hit her over the head or anything. At the moment, he was being unusually careful when it came to her. Lucy could take care of herself, and it seemed like she had done something drastic, but necessary to get them both out of whatever situation they were in.

"Maybe we should explain from the beginning so that everything makes sense to our guests."

"Okay, gramps, I don't think you know what that word actually means."

Makarov waved Laxus off and stuffed his pipe into his mouth, letting the wood click against his teeth. "Freed, Levy, if you could please fill them in?"

The duo tag-teamed for a while, others interjecting here and there until they had Crime Sorciere caught up to the end of their other meeting just days prior. Jellal was as suspicious as they were that someone knew how he came and went from Fairy Tail, as well as the inner workings of the sleep spell Mystogan used to use.

Makarov thought that it couldn't be anyone other than Ivan, and everyone either violently or silently agreed.

Natsu didn't say a word as he gathered his sleeping friend into his arms again and sat in an overstuffed armchair to wait until she woke up. Keeping her as close as possible so that she could soak up his body heat. He didn't truly care about rehashing how he lost his memories and magic, it was already blatantly obvious that they needed to find that damn lacrima and get it back in him come hell or high water. He _needed_ to be able to protect all these people around him, just as Lucy had done for him.

The one named Jellal looked as guilty as he did, like everything that had happened to them was his fault – even though it wasn't (which Erza whispered in his ear) – and the rest of the ones in cloaks shifted uneasily. They had had many battles with Fairy Tail over the years and lots of time to stew in their prison cells to think about who they were as people and as mages.

They weren't saints, and they may never redeem themselves. But the Seis knew they would give it a try. A second chance was possible and they knew that Fairy Tail would be the one to give it to them. It would take time though; blind trust wouldn't be possible.

"The only notable thing that happened with the Thunder Legion was we put a very drunk Bluenote Stinger back in prison." Laxus pointed over at Lucy when everything was all said and done. "So, I'll say it again, what the hell happened?"

Natsu sighed and pushed a piece of golden hair behind Lucy's ear, his eyes fond and proud. "We tracked Bora through Hargeon by talking to the locals and finally found him coming out of a brothel down by the docks. He's a bastard and a coward, but we didn't have to do anything to him and he was almost _happy_ to go back to the Rune Knights once he heard that Ivan was out. We were sleeping—" His voice cracked in anger and he gritted his teeth until they heard his jaw crack. " _Something_ woke me up; I don't know…maybe a feeling? Or something like that. But all I can remember is a shadow hanging over Luce and I just reacted. We brawled and woke her up. Then that lion spirit came out of nowhere and chucked the dumbass out the window. We followed to a park across the street. He was a water mage, and he was strong. Stronger than I am right now, I could feel his magic and it was suffocating. He was stronger than me in a straight brawl, and I think Lucy knew that. Suddenly Lucy was chanting and the lion guy disappeared and then she shouted this Urano…thingy."

Angel squawked from her corner and everyone turned towards her in question. As it turned out, she – out of anyone in that room – had been the only one to see that particular spell in action. "She used that spell? By herself?"

Natsu shot her a look but kept speaking. "I blacked out for a minute from the amount of pressure or a memory came back or whatever, when I woke up, Lucy was on the ground and so was the water guy. But there was another mage." He breathed harshly through his nose.

"So, I picked her up and ran." He whispered the last part and glanced down at Lucy to see a slight smile on her lips and her deep amber eyes looking at him so fondly. A weight lifted off his shoulders to see that she didn't see him as the coward as he did.

Lucy patted his cheek sloppily as if to say _it's okay to run away once in a while_.

A groan from Natsu's lap pulled their attention away from the flustered white-haired woman who was reliving the feeling of the sky falling down. "It's called Urano Metria Natsu, and I've been practicing with Capricorn to expand my magic reserves. I must have put a little too much punch into this one though. It was the only thing I could think of."

"Is this the spell you attempted at the GMG before Ivan cheated?"

Lucy nodded and shifted towards Natsu's warmth curling up into a tight little ball on his lap, head under his chin, nose stuffed into the skin on his collarbone.

 _So very warm_.

So sue her, her best friend was a natural heater and she was chilly. Or whatever.

Freed squinted at her from behind wind reader glasses. "I have never heard of this spell before Ms. Lucy."

She smiled smugly back at him. "Hibiki basically uploaded it to my brain when we faced the Seis the first time during that whole Nirvana thing. It's a lost spell, and only those with the right amount of magic reserves can pull it off. Usually, I have to ask Gemini for help, but I've been training to gather more magical energy so that I can keep their gates open longer."

Natsu pushed his hands through her hair, silky strands slipping through like water and smirked down at her. "You destroyed that bastard and ripped all the trees out of the ground with that spell, whatever it was…"

Makarov quickly calculated the number of Jewels he would need to shell out to replant close to a hundred trees. Or perhaps he would bill the council. "What exactly is this spell?"

"Oh. I just called eighty-eight stars down from the sky to protect me."

Angel shivered. "They aren't very forgiving."

Lucy's head shot up and over the back of the chair, practically crawling over the Natsu to get a look at the person with that familiar voice. She kneeled, straddling Natsu – who seemed inordinately pleased with the position of her chest in his face if a little flustered – to stare dumbfounded at Crime Sorciere.

Until her face cracked into a smirk.

"So, I guess you found the Seis eh? Hey guys. Angel, Cobra, Midnight, nice to see you again now that I'm not being sucked into a giant clock."

By their stupefied faces, they weren't quite sure what was going on, only that Lucy wasn't yelling and screaming at them. Fairy Tail and all its mages were certainly strange.

All Lucy really wanted to know was if they knew that the clock would turn into a giant fish. Cause that was a weird little quirk of the Real Nightmare Spell that she wanted to know about.

Cobra started to snicker. "No, Starshine. We didn't know about the fish."

Lucy nodded with a contemplative look on her face. "Good to know." She had to stop forgetting that Cobra could hear souls.

Although…it could be handy in times where silence was paramount. Perhaps during stealth missions? Maybe if Natsu and she teamed up with Crime Sorciere sometime in the future…it would be useful for infiltration.

She arched an eyebrow at him, another question on her mind. _Starshine?_

He smirked back, delighted that she was exceptionally bright and extremely quick-witted. Apparently, sassy as well. He leaned forward enough that his hood fell off. "For your magic."

She smiled brightly. "You know…that's one of the better ones. Thunder Thighs over there calls me Blondie, Bicks calls me Cosplayer…the worst is Gaj…"

The door slammed open again and rattled the walls. "You know you earned that nickname fair and square, Bunny."

Lucy pouted at the hulking Slayer as he stomped into the room, taking one look at the Seis and rolling his eyes, resigned. "No wonder I couldn't find them…"

Gajeel sat at the large round table Levy had commandeered for research purposes and plopped down in a chair that groaned ominously with his weight. His bones were made of iron after all.

He absentmindedly pulled Levy off the table – she had been sitting cross-legged on it up until then – and dragged her into his lap. "I have news."

"I think we all do Pincushion, and Natsu was just finishing up his story," Gajeel grunted and shot Lucy a look that she interpreted as _nice position you're sitting in_ to which she shot back one that said _you're one to talk Tin Can_.

Natsu peered around Lucy's torso and tried to fold her up in a seated position so that he could see again. She only huffed in amusement and curled up again so that she was surrounded by warmth again. She would have been purring like a cat in a sunbeam if she could. The damn basement was so chilly. Natsu draped his scarf around her neck to keep her shivers away. She only blinked up at him once with a dazed look.

 _Cute_.

He cleared his throat hastily and disregarded his thoughts for another time; perhaps he could revisit them in the shower?

"Nope. I was finished. Bora's locked up again and Lucy and I were ambushed in our hotel room in the dead of night. Luce split the sky open and then asked a bunch of stars to crash down the Earthland. Then we came here. That's it."

Gajeel opened his mouth. But Lucy cut him off beforehand. " _Don't even_ you walking tackle box. I can take care of myself and you know it. You too Sparky."

The two Slayers looked properly chagrined. Although they had a hint of defiance left in their eyes, they were surly guys of course, but Lucy was kin. She was special. She was a bit more of their family than everyone else to them. They would always worry like overprotective parents.

It was nice really, for Lucy at least, even if she was exasperated.

Her father hadn't truly cared for her unless she could make her money, so she wasn't used to people looking out for her. Although, she kicked ass now, so they could take it down a notch.

 _Please_.

"You know that's not gonna happen Bunny. But whatever, I have shit I wanna say so listen up."

Levy closed her book and if that wasn't a sign that he had everyone's attention than he didn't know what was. "Lily and I found a couple of Ivan's lackey's in a bar outside of Crocus, but they were so far down the line that they knew next to nothing about anything. But, they were looking for a fence to get rid of a rare magical item. Three guesses about what that is."

"Natsu's magic."

Gajeel smirked down at Levy from where he towered over her. "You got it Shrimp."

Levy pouted and tried to smack his head from where she sat, but to her ever-growing annoyance, she was too short.

"Wait, how do you know it was the lacrima? I thought Ivan needed it for something?"

"According to those two pricks, the guy that was sent after the magic in the first place messed up. Like an idiot, he heard _pink_ and took it from the most obvious source."

Lucy tugged on one of Natsu's flyaway bangs. "Pink hair…"

"But it was supposed to come from—"

"Me. Pink _guild mark_ , not pink _hair_."

Gray pinched his nose with two fingers and groaned. " _Not again_. Why is it always you?"

Lucy grimaced and shrugged before she was suddenly clambering over Natsu again, batting his grabby hands away from her waist as he tried to make her _sit down and stay still dammit_. "Angel, do you practice Celestial magic at all anymore?"

"No, my contracts were void when you beat me, even if I tried now…I abused the promises I made."

The blonde hummed in understanding. "I see. Master," She turned so that she was now facing forward with a hard look on her face. "I might be a rare breed now thanks to those idiots—" she jerked her thumb over her shoulder then who looked properly scolded, "—but I'm not the only Celestial mage left in Earthland."

Makarov nodded. "I assume you want to talk to Yukino and Hisui?"

"Very much so."

"I'll contact Sabertooth and Mercurius after we're finished up."

"Thank you, Master." It was a bit of a weight of her mind if she knew that both her Celestial Mage friends were taken care of."

"Where were we…Bora and Bluenote Stinger in custody again…ah yes. Gajeel. Please go on with what you found."

Gajeel thrust his hands into his pockets trying to search for something while he continued to speak, his voice low like shifting boulders. "One of them had a key to a room in a nearby Inn, so I checked it out after the Rune Knights had taken them into custody. If they were looking for the fence, they would have kept the magical item on hand, right?"

He finally pulled a deep purple velvet bag out of a hidden pocket of his travel cloak.

Levy and Freed practically leapt at the man who handed the item over with only a slight grumble. "It was hidden in a vent in their room. It would have fooled a lesser mage, but I could smell it the moment I opened the door. Something ancient and old and _concentrated as fuck_."

Levy smoothed the bag out on the table and inch by inch removed a round ball hardly larger than a marble. "So, Shrimp?"

The colour was deep red, swirled with golden sparks and shots of lightning.

"We need to run some tests…but…"

Lucy interjected with a raised hand. "It's his magic. Without a doubt. Can't you all feel it?" She could. It was only a small amount, but she knew that magical signature like the back of her hand.

Erza looked down at the small ball. "What are the chances that we would just happen to find it?"

 _Lucky Lucy indeed._


	8. Eight

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **Hellooooooooooooooo my precious cupcakes! Enjoy this next chapter, I know I loved writing Happy and Natsu's interaction. :3**

 **Stay crazy,**

 **LoadedEel**

* * *

EIGHT

* * *

They stared at the small lacrima, struck with how their dumb luck seemed to pan out.

"Shouldn't it be…you know…bigger?" Meredy went to poke the little ball and pouted when Erza batted her hand away, hissing quietly to _not touch the strange magical object, what were you raised in a barn_?

"Size isn't all that matters. Look at Shrimp here." Gajeel seemed inordinately proud at his statement as he patted Levy – who was still seated primly on his lap – on the head like she was a pet and he had just watched her complete a trick for the first time.

"Tread carefully, Gajeel." Levy hefted her exceptionally heavy book in her hands and eyed him meaningfully.

Lucy could see the situation devolving quickly and waved her hands around. "Whether or not Gaj is talking about his penis or how you are powerful even though you are so cute and _tiny_ is kinda not that point here."

"Oi. Don't go makin' assumptions about my dick Bunny…"

"Yes, yes. It's not the size that counts it's how you use it." Lucy flapped his squawk away while the rest of her family sniggered quietly into their fists, while Levy snorted so hard her glasses fell off her nose. "The _point is_ …" She pointed at the innocently shinning magical lacrima still sitting on the table. "…that lacrima needs to get back into Natsu. Like _yesterday_."

Natsu nodded enthusiastically over Lucy's shoulder. He could feel the pull of that tiny ball of magic deep within his soul or heart or whatever. He needed it back. He knew that whatever was in that lacrima was his.

Master chortled and hacked a bit on his pipe. "Levy, Freed, can you do it?"

Freed frowned and scooped the lacrima off the wooden table top and scrutinized it carefully. "In theory? Yes. But…"

"—We need time Master. I don't trust Ivan to not have done something to that thing. We haven't finished the reversal spell, and then we need to talk to Porlyusica again…about implantation if we fail." Levy's face twisted into a grimace at that thought. But Lucy had faith, there was no one more equipped than Levy and Freed to deal with this puzzle.

Wendy jumped up from her spot beside Evergreen. "I can do that Master. She doesn't seem as cranky when the request comes from me."

Makarov looked at Wendy like she was a gift straight from the Gods. "Thank you, Wendy, if you could do that as soon as possible."

Wendy bounded up the stairs and disappeared up to the bar.

Master nodded. "I agree with the both of you. We would be foolish to jump into something only to find out that there was a curse or something on Natsu's magic that would cause him irreparable harm."

While Master and the researchers were occupied by the finer points of curse detection, Lucy was pulled closer into Natsu's torso. She caught a glance of his face over her shoulder. He still looked uneasy about all of this, overwhelmed even.

She glanced around to see that they were being all but ignored as their family slowly dispersed into smaller groups and mingled with Crime Sorciere. Lucy smirked as a bewildered Midnight was pulled into a rousing argument over the proper classification of hex versus curse, by a very enthusiastic Freed and Levy, while Angel laughed openly at his misfortune.

Lucy pulled her best friend from the chair and chivvied him into a deserted corner of the library. "You okay Natsu? You look—confused honestly."

"A little."

She eyed the lacrima for a moment, her mind swirling with possibilities. "We both know that your magic is sitting over there on that table Natsu. That means that—"

"My memories…" His eyes burned a little bit brighter at that thought.

"Yeah." She breathed.

Maybe it was something in her voice or the way she said it or the fact that everything was just happening so fast that she didn't really have time to process it, but Natsu swooped down and gathered her in a giant hug that made her ribs creak and breath leave her chest in a wheeze.

But it was perfect, just what she needed.

"Luce."

His voice was hardly louder than a whisper. She could barely hear him even though his nose was stuffed in her hair. "What—what happens if they put my magic back…but I don't have my memories? What if they never come back?"

Lucy's stomach clenched painfully and she almost couldn't breathe again. But her voice was strong – surprisingly. "Then we make new ones."

Natsu huffed a suspiciously wet laugh into her bangs and so very lightly kissed her brow. It was so quick that she thought she imagined it.

But she knew she didn't. "Natsu?"

He shook his head at her and just hugged tighter. "It's nothing Luce. Don't worry."

"I'll always worry stupid. You're my best friend. It's in the job description. Also…you're a shitty liar."

Natsu finally put a little distance between them to look into her eyes. She saw so many conflicting emotions in them, too many for her to pin down. "I'm terrified, Luce. I want those memories back because I know I'm missing them, but what if I lose _these memories_? What if I lose everything? I want to remember, I don't think I want to go back to the man I was before. The way everyone talks about me or gives me these looks like…like they don't understand when I speak sometimes."

"You're not dumb Natsu. Never think that, and you weren't before either. You're magic just…puts things in perspective I think. You have different priorities. Family, your Nakama, is the absolute highest. Then everything else comes after that."

"It still is Luce."

"I never doubted it."

He smiled at her, something small and wonderful, just for her eyes. "Just—I don't want to forget some of my priorities. From now." He pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and watched the tops burn a light pink.

Lucy thought she understood, even though he didn't say it explicitly. "Natsu…I don't know if you'll remember or forget what has happened since your magic was stolen. But you're my best friend. I miss the other you, we all do. Bouncing off the walls, crazy antics, lovable personality and all. Your memories and feelings make you who you are Natsu." Her breath hitched as she let the worry and longing creep up into her lungs. "I miss my best friend."

He pulled her into another strong hug, chasing off those feelings that threatened to bury her under a mountain of pain.

"Please, Luce. If I don't remember all of this time with you later, make me remember. Help me to be this guy again. In this situation, you were the only thing that felt like home to me, all the other imprints were dull compared to yours. I know I'll regret it all, even if I don't remember…again."

 _Who was she to refuse her best friend?_

"I promise you Natsu, I'll do everything I can for you if you forget." She murmured into his shoulder. "And Natsu, if you don't forget, promise me something."

"Anything Luce." The air grew heavy with tension. So, Lucy took a breath and let it out again, ready to voice something that she had held in her for so long.

"Don't stop whatever _this_ is. Whatever we're doing, or wherever this is leading, just…keep going." She felt him nod his head and Lucy knew they were on the same page. There was no need to label anything they had together, not yet. There were more important things to deal with first.

"I promise, you weirdo." Lucy pulled back from his chest to smile up at him, his face echoed her sentiments.

He promised and that was enough for her.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"You lost it!?"

"What—no…NO! We were attacked."

"No excuses."

"Wait, please God, just w—wait! No, Master, we tried! Please don—"

There were no more excuses.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

They left the meeting at that, Natsu a little paler than usual, with a lot on his mind. Lucy decided it was the best if they left the guild for the afternoon, to go somewhere relaxing and wait for whatever came next.

Levy and Freed had jointly decided to throw as much of their magical knowledge at that tiny lacrima, to try and pull out its secrets out, just in case of course. Who knew what kind of seals, black arts, or curses had been set over it?

Lucy snagged Happy on the way out of the beer hall – she missed that little fur ball even if he was a teeny devil in disguise half the time – and marched her boys to their secret-not-so-secret-because-everyone-knew-about-it fishing spot.

Happy would fill his belly with his favourite food, Natsu would have a quiet place to read or think or whatever he needed to do to reconcile the fact that there was a decision in his near future that could alter his life significantly, and Lucy could take a nap in the weak sunshine.

"Where are we going, Luce?"

She flashed him a grin, happy to see that there was colour back in his cheeks again. She knew he would be overwhelmed, but she didn't realize how much it would pain her heart to see him so conflicted. "Somewhere safe."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Natsu lost himself in the last of Lucy's journals, the seventh one. It was the heaviest, bound in a bright red leather and penned carefully with titles such as "The S-class trials", "Key to the Starry Heavens" (which he promptly lost his shit over when he read about the Oracion Seis and the sacrifice, he knew _of it_ but now he read it in her writings and it became even more real to him) and the most troubling was the "Grand Magic Games." He narrowed his eyes at the last words, flipping passed several blank pages in confusion.

He loved Lucy's writing, and she was usually so articulate, her conclusions and endings inventive and uplifting.

But there was no ending to this journal. It just abruptly ended after her arrest – which he admits is a great cliffhanger – and he can't put his finger on it, but he knows deep down that there should be more to this journal. How did she escape? Did he go after her like he said he always would? Who won the GMG? Did Sting ever stop being the biggest douchebag in the entirety of Earthland?

He had so many questions. It was probably innocent like she had so many things to write and not enough space.

Something pinged in the back of his brain…he still hadn't read anything about a horde of Dragons though. Maybe some pages were missing…?

The spine of Lucy's journal creaked as he snapped it shut. Natsu's eyes searched out Lucy's form, splayed out haphazardly under a beech tree, still wearing his scarf. Her breathing was heavy and even.

He'd ask later.

He chuckled low in the back of his throat as he heard the tiny snores that left her lips. She was more tired than he had realized. Natsu knew that all of this, the stress and anxiety, the fact that she had her best friends _body_ – for lack of a better term – and not his soul, memories, magic…whatever, was getting to her. Restless nights of sleep, complete with dark eye bags that he could see no matter how much makeup she put on, weighed heavily on his heart.

The tiny blue cat curled in his lap – _Happy, his name is Happy_ – rolled over and yawned, blinking wide kitten eyes up at him.

He smiled down at the blue feline and stroked a hand through soft fur, Happy's purrs rumbling up through his hand and down his arm.

"You alright, Natsu?"

No.

Not really. But he didn't need Happy to know that.

"Yeah. Of course."

Happy rolled his eyes and nuzzled Natsu's palm. "That bad huh?"

Natsu huffed a small incredulous laugh. "Nothing gets by you, does it?"

"Nope!"

 _Of course not_.

He sighed, long and low. "I'm not fine, but I think—I will be? Hopefully."

Happy turned his head to see what Natsu was staring at. He snickered into a paw. It was always Lucy, just like before. "Natsu…do you still love her?"

The petting stopped for a moment, the little tremble in Natsu's hands giving him away. "Hmm? What—I Uh – Lucy?"

Happy grumbled and shifted around to get more comfortable on Natsu's lap, mourning the fact that his friend wasn't as inherently warm as he usually was. He was ready for these two boneheads to get their heads out of their asses and move forward with— _whatever_ came next in their relationship.

The mutual pinning was funny for a while, but Natsu's oblivious nature and Lucy's stubbornness were really grating on his last nerve. "Who else could it be dummy? Of course, I meant Lucy. Everyone sees how you look at each other."

Natsu glanced down at Happy with an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face. He had only really seen it a couple of times before, when he was fighting and giving his all, on Tenrou Island when they were sure they would all die, and when Future Lucy—

"Yes. I do. I don't remember a lot, _anything_ really, but I do know some things that couldn't possibly change no matter what happened to me." He murmured this to a smugly grinning blue cat, what had his life become?

"Then what's the problem?"

"What if I don't remember this? What if I don't get my memories back, how could I ask her to love someone who is less than they could be? Or what if I do get my memories back and become that dense… _idiot_."

Happy pushed himself up and crossed his arms over his chest. "You aren't an idiot Natsu. I don't know about all the other parts, but I know Lucy, and I know she loves you, always has I think."

He smiled, a little sad, a little resigned. "Thank you Happy."

A slender blue tail wrapped around one of Natsu's wrists. "If you do lose your memories again, I could probably help you out. Just write something down for the other Natsu now, give it to me and I'll give it to him if he doesn't make a move on Lucy within a week."

"Would that even work?"

Happy shrugged. "Can't hurt to try, can it? You'd probably listen to yourself better than anyone else."

Natsu nodded and quickly tore one of the last pages out of Lucy's journal, silently praying that she wouldn't kill him for doing something so heinous to one of her books. But it was for a good cause, _Lucy, please don't kick me in the balls._

Happy scrounged up a pen from Lucy's bag that she always had slung over her shoulder.

Natsu scratched out a message to himself, just in case something did happen and he lost every new memory he made since his others had been torn out of his mind, let the ink dry, folded it up and watched as Happy pushed it into his little green backpack.

"Thanks, Happy."

"Anything to get you guys to stop making sappy puppy dog eyes at each other. It's getting out of hand."

Natsu snorted and laid back on the soft grass, a load off his mind and shoulders. Maybe he couldn't control what would happen, but he could help himself out as much as possible. His eyes sought out Lucy's face, scrunched adorably as the breeze tickled her nose with some of her flyaway hair.

Yeah, he would do just about anything.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Freed…are you seeing this? Is this correct?"

Levy was so incredibly glad that both she and Freed were perfectionists and insisted that they run any and all tests possible to search for malevolent magic and black spells. If they had put the lacrima into Natsu without checking it first…it would have caused irreparable harm to his body, destroying what was left of his magic containers.

"Yes, this is a true puzzle Ms. McGarden. It seems that someone within Ivan's resurrected guild can place seals and dark enchantments onto magical objects. While I can strip the enchantments away with my Dark Ecriture, I can do nothing about the seal." He sighed heavily, bangs fluttering over his eyes. "We need help."

"We need a seal breaker."


	9. Nine

All Rights to Hiro Mashima

 **Hello my precious cupcakes, thanks so much for all your reviews and questions, follows and favourites. :3**

 **Things are about to heat up...can't wait to write the next chapter...**

 **Stay Crazy,**

 **LoadedEel**

* * *

NINE

* * *

"A seal breaker you say?" Master tipped new herbs into his pipe, brandished one end at Natsu for him to light, then puffed away with a muted fervor as he thought about the problem. "The only one I knew of that could do such a thing was Brain, and in extension…Jellal."

Natsu shot a look at his blonde friend, eyebrow quirked in a silent question. Lucy whispered _Nirvana_ and his eyes cleared up with a small nod.

Lucy tapped her nails on the bar counter, feet swinging beneath her as she sat on the bar stool between Erza and Natsu, Happy resting peacefully in front of her after gorging himself on mackerel. "Levy already had that idea, the seal's—different? She didn't really know how to explain it and Jellal couldn't make heads or tails out of it. Their magic just isn't compatible, I think."

Natsu leaned in then to Lucy's side, his warmth soothing something frazzled inside her. "What's a seal breaker?"

"As far as I know…magical seals can be placed on objects by powerful mages to 'seal it off' from other's so that the power can't be used. A seal breaker can break that enchantment."

Erza's head thunked down onto the bar top next to them, her eyes scrunched shut as she wracked her brains for a solution. She was the leader of their little group, she _should_ be the one who has the answers.

Natsu's eyes grew round as Lucy giggled a little at her friend's theatrics. "It's okay Erza, don't hurt yourself." She let her fingers paw through scarlet hair for a moment and felt her big sister relax under her touch.

"I know Lu. It's just— _ugh_ …I feel as if I _have the answer but it won't come out of my stupid brain_."

Natsu snapped up straight at her side and Lucy mourned the loss of his body heat for a moment before it turned into bewildered confusion as her best friend shot out of the open front doors and into the early evening air.

"What the hell? Natsu?" She called after him, but he was already gone.

Lucy looked over at Makarov, but he only shrugged and settled into his beer stein while Erza snorted and spooned another bite of cake into her mouth. "He's acting more like himself lately, isn't he?"

"Sometimes, it's like his memories never left. But other times, when he's just sitting there next to me engrossed in a book or being quiet and contemplative while I write…it's easy to see what's missing."

Erza leaned over then, her eyes searching for something in her face. Perhaps she found it because a small smile bloomed and Lucy's friend suddenly looked years younger. "We'll find the rest of him Lu. Count on it."

"I know," she whispered quietly. As it the words would break some spell over them. "I just—I just _miss_ him so _much_."

Erza jolted a little as a blonde head of hair laid down on her shoulder. She had never really had a friend like Lucy before, willing to give her something, a true friendship, a true _sister_. Something that wasn't based on the Tower, something that came out of love and comradery, and a bond between two people that wouldn't break no matter what. She knew what it was like to miss something, to miss _someone_.

Someone near and dear to your heart, like they had gouged out a place in your chest, red and warm. For Erza, all her friends and family, her team, Makarov, and all those in the Tower were there in her heart.

But there was one spot that never seemed to be filled, and other times it was overflowing.

Lucy couldn't see the moment when Erza's eyes flickered to the corner of the room to where Jellal sat with the rest of Crime Sorciere, but she heard the whispered _I know, believe me_ , that seemed a little sad, and completely forlorn. It sounded like a foregone conclusion and Lucy knew what Erza was thinking about.

She remembered a tearful night only weeks earlier when Erza had arrived at her doorstep looking lost and sad, and so incredibly small.

 _He's engaged Lu. He…I waited for so long. I don't—_

She had never seen Erza so tired or shed so many tears.

Not since Simon.

Lucy had held a bit of resentment for Jellal after she had heard what he had said to her friend, and Natsu was pissed as all hell for the fact that Erza had cried again. But one look at Jellal, to see all that _yearning_ and resentment and guilt on his face—she immediately knew that the "fiancé" was a non-existent. Erza was just too close to see that Jellal loved her, so _so_ much.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Sting? What did Master Makarov need? It hasn't been that long since the GMG, did something happen?"

"Rogue, where's Yukino? I thought she was with you."

"She's downstairs with Orga…what's going on. What's wrong?"

"Bring her up here. There's something she needs to know."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Natsu crashed through Lucy's front door and sprinted up the steps into her apartment. He knew immediately what he needed, but he wanted to make sure he was absolutely right before he got his own hopes up, or Gods forbid, Lucy's.

He ripped open the top book in the stack that sat in a haphazard pile towards one end of her couch, what had come to be his second favourite reading place in the entire world (the first being Lucy's lap, especially when she ran her lithe little fingers through his hair). He flipped the pages feverously looking for the right one.

 _Lullaby_.

Then he was gone just the way he had come, in a whirlwind of hot air and exuberance. Leaving behind only the soft smell of fresh pine ash.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Natsu slammed the book down on the counter and gave Lucy such an excited smile that she couldn't help giving one back to him. Albeit a little confusedly. "What—what the hell was that Natsu? Are you alright?"

He just nodded and shoved the book under her nose and pointed to that one word. That title she remembered penning years ago. "Lullaby?"

Natsu nodded, his spiky hair windswept and bouncing with every shake. "Luce. _Luce_ …the seal breaker."

Erza reached over her friend and snatched the book from the table and poured over it while warding off Lucy's grabby hands. "Wait, Erza. _Don't read that_."

"Luce. I remembered because I was literally just reading it the other day." Natsu gestured wildly with his arms, punctuating each word with a finger point.

Makarov cracked an eye open at the commotion but didn't say anything as he watched his children work out the problem.

"Wait…" Lucy breathed out and stopped the scrabbling for her book, Erza made a triumphant noise and slunk off to Levy's corner to read the journal. "—Natsu… _Kageyama_."

Natsu just knocked their foreheads together and gave her a tiny private grin. Just for her. A secret. "Kageyama."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Makarov gathered Erza and Gray, while Lucy and Natsu settled back onto their stools, waiting to see what their Master would cook up.

"Erza, Gray—could you please go back to ERA and ask for information on Kageyama, then perhaps we can make a deal with him to release the seal. I must admit, after seven years…I don't have much pull with the council anymore."

Gray blanched while Erza poked at a new slice of cake as nonchalantly as possible. Lucy quirked an eyebrow at them both but she couldn't catch their eyes.

The ice-make mage cleared his throat twice before he could get the lump out enough to speak. "Uhm, gramps, we may have a slight problem at the moment with the Magic Council. I sort of…insulted them? And Erza, well, she _may or may not_ have pointed a sword in Doranbolt's face forcing him to take us home by direct line. And called them idiots. And imbeciles. And told them that they couldn't do their jobs right. And demanded a formal apology."

Lucy blinked slowly while Natsu tried to stifle a laugh behind her back.

It was silent for a moment.

Happy rolled over in his fish induced sleep to murmur about even more fish.

Erza finally looked up and caught Lucy's eye with a sheepish smile. "Sorry?"

Natsu finally broke down with heaving gasps, tearing up slightly. "Best thing I've heard all day. That sounds like something I would do. I thought I was supposed to be the hot-headed one?"

Gray tried to pinch Natsu in a fit of immaturity, but Natsu – despite his wheezing – dodged him skillfully. This only made Gray pout, his scowl dark and broody. "They insulted Fairy Tail you overgrown flamethrower, and implied that it was our fault for that shit that went down, and didn't even say thank you for that crap with the Dragons and Future Rogu—"

Lucy coughed loudly over Gray's statement, shaking her head slightly at her brother. He cut himself off abruptly shooting the blonde a strange look. He'd ask her about that later, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the snickering pinkette to her right.

Makarov sniffed derisively over Natsu's aborted hiccups. "Be that as it may, I still want that information."

Lucy smiled tightly. "We'll all go. I'm sure that I can keep them all in line."

"Thank you, my dear. You can all leave in the morning, there should be a train going out that way quite early."

Natsu snorted into his glass, his chuckles muffled by his spiced whiskey. "— _sword point_ …"

Lucy smiled indulgently at the back of his head. Her friends really didn't do things by half, did they?

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

"Lu? Why didn't you want me saying anything about Future Lucy?"

"Natsu doesn't know yet."

"I thought he's been reading your journals?"

"I haven't—I can't _write it down_. I've been trying for months and nothing. I can't get anything down on paper because it would make it real, even though it wasn't really because Natsu destroyed the Eclipse Gate and that future was rewritten. But I can't—I _can't Gray_."

"Lu, come here. Clam down eh? I know alright, we all do I think…how hard it is to think about it all, I think we all died that night. And then Ultear…"

"I know."

"Have you and Natsu ever talked about what happened with Future Lucy?"

"No."

"I think you should tell him. It might help you Lu."

"But—"

"Lu."

"—I know. I'll tell him tonight. I promise."

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

Natsu watched Lucy twist her nightshirt into knots between her fingers. _She's nervous_.

They were seated on opposite ends of Lucy's couch. Usually, they would be jammed tightly together, as close as they could. But Natsu had taken one look at his best friend after his shower and gave her as much space as she needed.

"Luce?"

"Natsu…there's something I need to tell you about. You deserve to know the truth. The whole story."

"Does this have anything to do with the last journal? I've heard people talk about a swarm of Dragons but they don't show up at all in any of the other stories."

Lucy nodded and bounced her knee against the back cushion of the couch. "Yes."

Natsu waited silently for Lucy to go on, this was something that she needed to get off her chest, and he would wait for however long it took for her to speak.

"The black wizard Zeref designed many things, built out of black magic. But the worst one, the one that caused so much devastation and confusion and _pain_ was called the _Eclipse Gate_."

She told him everything. Why the Grand Magic Games had been started, how the Princess had been duped by someone from the Future. About how Celestial Mages were the ones who could open it, the horde of Dragons.

Falling underground and fighting for their freedoms, Hisui, Yukino, Mira, Wendy, Loke, Arcadios.

Then—

The fight upstairs, finding Future Rogue and hearing about the future devastated by Dragons. Learning that it was Lucy herself that opened the gate…

"No! You wouldn't do something like that…I know it."

Lucy smiled at Natsu, happy that he still thought so highly of her, even when he didn't truly know her.

"That's just it Natsu, I don't know if I did or not in that timeline, and I said as much. But Future Rogue, he was hellbent on preventing that timeline from succeeding. The only way to absolutely make sure I couldn't open it…was to kill me."

" _What_?" His whisper was almost worse than a shout, it tore up her heart in ten different ways.

"He said that it was the _only way_. To make sure that people didn't die in the future…I had to—had to _die_. Fuck. He tried to kill me Natsu…with an arrow made of shadows, straight at my heart."

Natsu shook his head and tried to not let her words gouge part of his soul out through his chest. He felt open and cracked. He _almost_ knew what she would say next, even if she was sitting across from him now alive and well.

" _You weren't fast enough…no one was—_ "

He watched as a lone tear tracked down her cheek, her bright eyes shimmering with pain and sadness and loss. "— _except the other me. Future Lucy took that arrow through her own chest._ "

Natsu shook his head. He didn't want to hear any more. Didn't want Lucy to finish this story.

"She died in my arms, Natsu."

His composure shattered.

"No. Nononono…you said I would always catch you, that I always caught you…Luce. _I failed you_?" At his heartbroken wretched words, she crawled forward into his lap and buried her face into his warm neck. His arms wound around her waist, a little too tight, but she felt safe.

Then she let go of everything. The pain and suffering, bone-deep sadness. She let those tears that she had locked up for months flow, soaking his pajama top through. "Fuck. Natsu…I was so scared. Dammit." She tried to wipe the tears away, but it was no use.

He hushed her, his voice wet and breathless. Suddenly she was crushed to his torso and manhandled until they were laying down, blankets pulled over their bodies, her face still stuffed into Natsu's collarbone. He kissed her forehead and gripped her tighter still.

They didn't speak again for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

The morning was somber and quiet until Natsu asked how the gate was destroyed.

"Oh, you were so pissed off at Rogue that you beat his ass while flying on the back of a Dragon, then threw that Dragon onto the Eclipse Gate."

Natsu cackled until he couldn't breathe.

* * *

 **-ooo-**

* * *

To say that their group of four has expanded slightly on this trip would have been an understatement. Lucy sat in a compartment with Natsu's head in her lap as he dozed off, with a half-dressed Gray and humming Erza across from them.

However, due to the…interesting nature of their quest their merry band of usual idiots had some tag-along. Wendy and Charles are quietly talking with a blushing Juvia, while Happy napped on the next seat, leg twitching every once and a while. Wendy was there to quickly implant the lacrima as soon as possible into Natsu if Levy's spell didn't work, seeing as the deadline for magic deterioration was swiftly approaching.

Juvia was there to watch over her precious Gray, especially because Cana and Gildarts were in bar car partaking in afternoon refreshments.

Levy and Freed had insisted upon being there for the ride as well, seated across from each other with the equivalent of the guild's library strewn about them. Levy had her favourite pair of wind readers on and was currently decimating a book in an obscure ancient language that no one else can read. Freed was working his literal magic on the lacrima that sat on the seat beside him, muttering about _the fifth rule of darkness_. Time was of the essence, and it Kageyama decided to help, then Levy's counterspell needed to be implemented immediately.

Crime Sorciere was along for the added muscle to make sure that Lucy did indeed arrive in one piece and stayed that way.

An ashen-faced Laxus was slumped over in a compartment across from the researchers, trying not to hurl his breakfast all over the other passengers. Master had asked him to join to gather more information on Ivan, and seeing as Laxus is the son of the escaped convict, his rights to information were more concrete than if anyone else in the guild asked the questions.

Where Laxus was, his entourage was sure to follow. Bix was lounging across one seat reading a magazine while Evergreen painted her nails a truly horrendous shade of neon green.

Gajeel groaned pitifully from somewhere near Levy. His excuse to come with them was that _someone could step on his Shrimp because she's so tiny and she needs someone to look out for her._ This earned an exaggerated roll of the eyes from everyone who heard him and a quick Solid Script Fire to his ass which singed the bottom of his hair, much to his displeasure.

"Does this feel a little, I don't know…surreal to anyone else?" Gray murmured into the still air, trying not to break the strange silence.

Erza cracked one eye open. "I know what you mean, this is probably the quietest train ride that I've ever been on with this team."

Lucy smiled. "I was just saying that the other day. Quiet isn't really in our nature, is it? Feels weird, like it's too quiet, right?"

Erza nodded and let herself fall back into a light sleep with a small sigh. "—s nice though…"

Lucy looked down at Natsu with his nose stuffed close to her stomach and let her lips slip into a small smile.

 _The louder the better_.

She turned her head to the side and watched as the scenery flew by, ready beyond a shadow of a doubt to make Natsu whole again.


End file.
